


A Storm for the East

by Siama2105



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Viggo learns about kindness love and forgiving, i actually did a lot of research on names please google them they have cool meanings, silver phantoms are really lit just saying, subtlehiccstrid, viggo finds love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-03-29 23:22:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 36,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19030039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siama2105/pseuds/Siama2105
Summary: Just outside of the Barbaric Archipelago, in the east, lays the Island of the Protecters. Their chief is known everywhere, in and outside of the Archipelago, for he has never in his life lost a fight. And of course, his Pride and Joy, his two children, Hákon and Eos live there with him too. The Misson of the Protectors has always been to save endangerd Dragon species, therefor, there were a lot of rare Dragons on their Island. But what happens when the shadows of the past return to the now peaceful island?This is the Story of how Eos, an old friend of the Dragon Riders, helps safe the Archipelago and maybe even find love on the way.*I do not own How to train your Dragon, Race to the Edge or any of the Characters except my OC's*





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys and welcome to my story!  
> This is a story about Viggo and my own character Eos. I put a lot of efford into my writing but I'm still pretty unexpierienced so tips and constructive critisism would be very much appreciated! I also am not from am english speaking country so if you see any typos or grammer mistakes, please let me know so I can correct them!
> 
> The story begins after the events of Triple Cross, basically in the same night. Eos has already been with the riders for a while but not from the very beginning of the war against the hunters. The riders called for her help when Krogan got his Singtails
> 
> I hope you enjoy my story! Have fun!

Hiccup landed next to the sables with a distrought look on his face. All of the last year he‘d tried and tried to get rid of his arch nemesis, Viggo Grimborn. And now that he was gone Hiccup almost had to hold back tears from streaming down his face. They had learned so much from him.   
And now, at the point where he had finally realized why Hiccup had never given in, why he will never give in… Viggo gives his owe live just to save him.   
Hiccup felt pathetic. He tried to tell himself, that it was better that Viggo was gone now, I mean, who knows, maybe in the end it was just one of his tricks and he was just going to turn on them again. But the young Viking knew very well that that just wasn‘t true. Viggo had changed for the better. But now it was to late. The game was over. Forever.

„Hey, uhm, Hiccup… you good over there?“

He turned around to see Ruff and Tuff behind him. He‘d completely forgotten that the twins where right behind him and had gotten him out of a sticky situation after he escaped the caves in which Viggo and him had their last conversation. 

„Oh, uhm, yeah, all good here. Just… thinking about… stuff.“

The twins nodded somehow looking like they understood what was going on. A rather rare sight to see.

„So, you gonna tell us what happend to Viggo, like you promised?“, Ruff inquiered.

„Oh, uhm, yeah..“, Hiccup answered, remembering his promise. „Let‘s just go to the clubhouse so I can tell the others too.

 

Back at the clubhouse Astrid, Fishlegs and Eos where having a lighthearted conversation. Eos was telling one of her adventure stories of her and her brother. She was telling them how they‘d saved a Wholly Howl from a Slitherwing Dragon that had poisoned it and how her brother just couldn‘t get over the fact that there was a dragon that had fur instead of scales.

„He was just so mesmerised by that Dragon, I had to keep on telling him to focus on the task at hand, which of course was saving that dragon“, Eos giggled.

„That definitly fits into my picture of Hákon.“, Astrid answered amused.

„Yeah, I can‘t imagine that guy actually reading a book. Of course, he doesn‘t know about Wholly Howls.“, said Fishlegs.

Eos laughter died down. „Hold on there, my brother may prefer training over studying but he‘s no imbecile.“, her tone wasn‘t angry but it was strong.

Fishlegs shot her an apologetic look and was about to apologize when Hiccup and the twins walked in.  
Seeing the serious look on their leaders face, they realized something had gone down. Eos seemed to understand that Hiccup wanted to talk to all of them.

„I‘ll go wake Snotloud from his beauty sleep.“, she said. Hiccup smiled with sad eyes and gave a short nod. She truly knew him. At times like this he was so grateful for the bond he and Eos shared.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> I just wanted to let you know that I kind of have a head start at writing, I already started Chapter 7. But I'll only post until Chapter 5 for now and keep on adding one once a week, in case I don't have enough time to write sometimes.
> 
> I also want this story to build up slowly and be well structured, ect. which is why it might take a while for Viggo and Eos to actually get together. I want their feelings to be natural. I also want to display how much Eos is a part of the Riders. That she actually is their friend and is a part of the group. I don't really know if I'm doing to muc, please let me know if you want a bit of quicker development.
> 
> Have fun!

When Eos returned with Snotloud, who, of course, was complaining about being woken up, Hiccup was quick to sit them all down and tell them what had happened.

That he‘d known the letter was from Viggo and not his Dad (Astrid shot him a short angry glare there), that Viggo had been betrayed by Johann and Krogan, that Viggo had pretended to poison Toothless with red oliander, that they had infultrated Johann‘s base with one of Viggo‘s overly complicated plans and that Viggo had tamed a Skrill, one of the most hardest dragons to train and that Viggo had taken four arrows to his back and still took on a bunch of Dragon Hunters just so Hiccup could get out of the cave, where the twins had come to save him.

„They only need one more lens. Johann is that much closer to the King of Dragons.“, Hiccup ended.

Eos looked down. She wouldn‘t let that happen, that was for sure. She looked over at the Silver Phantom that was sleeping in the corner of the clubhouse. She wouldn‘t let her dragon fall into the hands of the Hunters because they had finally found away to froce the King of Dragons to do their bidding. 

„It‘s almost unbelievable that Viggo sacrifised himself for you Hiccup.“, Fishlegs said.

„It shouldn‘t have ended that way...“, Eos mumbled under her breath.

„What did you say?“, Astrid asked.

„Nothing.. Just.. didn‘t have to end like that.“

Hiccup nodded. He knew what she meant. He would‘ve loved to give Viggo a second chance after all he‘s did that day. He also knew that it was in Eos nature to protect. She always said that killing someone wasn‘t the solution, no matter what the person had done. She didn‘t even think that Johann and Krogan deserved to die. And Viggo was no exception.

When Hiccup looked back at Eos he saw her and Astrid hugging. Astrid rarely hugged anyone. Hiccup was happy at the fact that his best friend, who was practically his sister, and his girlfriend got along so well, remembering how their relationship had been in the past. A lot has changed since they were fifteen. 

„So.. now what?“, Tuffnut asked. 

„We have to find that lens and get to the King of Dragons before Johann and Krogan. We can‘t let them capture it.“, Hiccup said in his leader voice.

„Agreed. But for now, how about dinner?“, Eos said, a kind tone lacing her words.

„Now, I am down for that!“, Snotloud said.

 

Just half an hour later the Riders where all sitting at the table, having dinner, Hiccup and Astrid sitting close together, having a quiet conversation all for them selfs, while Eos and Fishlegs were talking about which dragon had the strongest firepower, with Snotloud constantly butting in to say that it clearly was the Monsterous Nightmare.

„I‘m telling you, no dragon‘s as strong as Hooki!“

Fishlegs rolled his eyes about to tell Snotloud about all the other dragons that where way stronger, when Eos suddenly put a hand in front of his mouth.

„Quiet.“

„Okay, just because you can‘t see that Hook...“, Snotloud started, but was interrupted by Eos „No, Snotloud, listen.“

„What, what is it?“, Hiccup asked

„I hear wing-flapping.“, the eastern princess replied.

„Oh, yeah, a Skrill‘s been circling the clubhouse for about five minutes.“, Ruff mentioned in a nonchalant way.

Hiccup just shook his head at her and went outside, Astrid and Eos hot on his heals. The dragon seemed to be holding a person in it‘s claws. The Riders immediatly shared a knowing look. Upon noticing Hiccup, the Skrill landed and softly laid Viggo‘s body in front of them. He was laying on his stomach, face turned sideways, arrows still imbedded in his back. He had a few burns on his arms, probably from the explosion.

„The Dragon must have not known where else to go..“, Hiccup whispered.

„Facinating.“; Fishlegs said. 

„What on earth is facinating about this? There‘s a dead man, who has been given a second chance at live and threw it away for me, laying in front of us!“, Hiccup suddenly snapped. The Riders began to noticed how much their leader had been struggeling with this. Astrid, however, seemed to understand, she took his hand in hers and with the other she cupped his cheek. Hiccup looked into her eyes and he suddenly just felt safe. Like he could just openly display all his anger and she‘d still love him. He was so lucky.

„Hiccup..!“, he turned his head to Eos, who had croutched down next to Viggo. „Hiccup, he‘s still breathing!“


	3. Chapter 2

„Oh my Thor.“, Eos heard somewhere behind her. She took a deep breath in, getting ready for a long night.

„Okay gang, I suggest...“, Hiccup started. „No Hiccup, no suggestions. I‘m the healer here this is my job. Listen, I need everyone out except Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs.“, Eos said and turned back to Viggo to assess the injuries better. 

„Why can‘t we help?“, Snotloud asked. „Just do what she says, Snotloud.“, Hiccup replied to his cousin, who just mumbled something under his breath while walking away with the twins. 

„Fishlegs, medical supplies, now. Hiccup, get me that blanket from the back of the room, quickly. Astrid, hand me your dagger.“, Eos said and the others set to work.

Hiccup brought over the blanket, which Eos cut into four strips and handed each of the vikings one, while Fishlegs went back to Eos' and Astrids shared hut to get the supplies.

„Alright, listen up, I‘m going to pull one arrow out at a time. This will increase the bloodflow exponantially, so as soon as I pull one out, I need you to apply pressure with one of the strips. Hiccup you start. Everything clear?“

The couple nodded and they set to work. It was diffcult to get the arrows out and even more difficult to stop the bloodflow. Fortunatly Fishlegs came back shortly after, giving Eos a bit more peace of mind, since he was the only one except her who had medical knowledge.  
It was dreadful and hard and with every second the fear of loosing him increased but eventually things started to look up, when the bloodflow slowed and they could stitch up the wounds. Viggo would live.

 

Eos woke up at the crack of dawn the next day. She looked over to Astrid who was still soundly sleeping in her bed across the room. She looked down at her hands and saw bloodstains on them. She must have forgotten to wash them in all the stress yesterday.  
As she got up to wash her hands and get ready for her morning flight, she remembered what had happened last night. They had brought Viggo to Hiccups hut where he could rest for the night. She should probably go check on him soon. But her dragon came first now. She‘d check up om him after a round over the edge.

She went outside, where her dragon preferred to sleep and took in a breath of fresh air. Breathing out, she relaxed. The next second she was tackled down by her Silver Phantom, who had awoken upon hearing her. The dragon started cuddling her and the girl giggled.

„What do you say, girl? Short flight around the island before we check on our guest?“ The Dragon gave a soft roar in agreement.  
As soon as Eos sat down on the long, thin neck of her dragon, she shot almost straight up into the air gaining a lot of altitude. Eos loved the feeling to be far above the clouds almost as much as her dragon did. While a Night Fury is perfectly comouflaged at night due to it‘s black colour, a Silver Phantoms scales blend in with the clouds perfectly. Up here they where all alone. No one could see them, no one would bother them. Just her and her Dragon in complete harmony. But that, of course couldn‘t last forever.

Eos landed in front of Hiccups hut just to see him standing next to the fordge looking at some plans for yet another tailfin for Toothless. The door to his hut was open, reavealing Viggo still soundly asleep on a spare bed in Hiccups hut.

„Couldn‘t sleep anymore either?“, Eos asked, making Hiccup jump. „Apologies, i did‘t mean to scare you.“, she said quickly.

„Ah, no, no, it‘s alright. Yeah, no, I couldn‘t sleep. Figured I‘d take a look at these again. Something‘s not right, I just can‘t find what it is.“, the young viking replied.

„Let‘s take a look at it together then.“, said Eos, not noticing that their dragons slipped into the hut behind them.

 

As Viggo started to stir awake, he heard familiar voices outside. He just couldn‘t quite place them. His mind was still foggy, trying to figure out what had happened, where he was. As he was coming to his senses more and more he started to notice the piercing pain in his back. That made him remember. Johann, Krogan, Hiccup, the Skrill and the arrows. The explosion and the numbing darkness afterwards. It all came back. He should be dead.

Why wasn‘t he dead?

Suddenly he felt something soft yet cold on his arm. It was traveling up to his shoulder, making him open his eyes. There stood a beautiful Silver Phantom in front of him, sniffling at his arm, that was bandadged up for some reason. Not knowing what to do he tried to sit up but immediatly felt pain shooting through his entire body. And suddenly a hand on his shoulder.

„Woah, easy there. Lay back down.“, he heard a soft female voice say. 

Looking up, Viggo saw Hiccup and a girl standing in front of him. He didn’t remember ever meeting the young female. Yet there seemed something oddly familiar about her. Viggo took a closer look at her, trying to make out where he had seen her. She had two long brown braids that were woven in from the roots of her hair and went down to about her elbows. Her face was oval with the slightest hint of freckles on her cheeks and her nose. She had forest green eyes with long lashes. She was wearing black leather armor without sleeves but with shoulder pads. They had black leather too, but were rimmed with what appeared to be gronckle iron. She wore black pants and had a belt on with two swords that crossed behind her back. Lastly she was wearing black boots that had fur on the rim, just like the black hood that was attached to her leather armor.

Realizing he had been staring for a bit to long he tried to play it of as still not being fully awake yet and carefully asked:“What happened? Hiccup, how did I get here?“

„The Skrill brought you here, hours after the fight. No idea how it found us. We thouht you were already dead but, Eos here noticed you were still breathing. She‘s a pretty good healer. It‘s her who ultimatly saved your life.“

Eos smiled a bit at Viggo, her shy side, that always appears for a short amount of time with strangers, shining through. 

„Thank you very much for that, my dear. Eos, was it? I don‘t believe I‘ve ever met you.“, the former hunter said.

„Maybe this‘ll help your memory.“, the girl said, as she pulled up her hood all the way and put on a mask made out of black leather and rimmed with gronkle iron, just like her shoulder pads. 

„The masked rider.. Of course. So, am I correct to assume that that Silver Phantom is yours?“, Viggo inquiered.

„What Eurus? Yeah, she‘s my Dragon.“

„Euros you say… The East Wind?“

„Percisely.“


	4. Chapter3

As Eos was about to explain more about what happened last night and how serious Viggo‘s injuries actually were, she saw his face scruntch up. A wave of pain must have hit him, as he came to his senses more and more.

Eos walked over to Hiccup‘s desk where she had put some of her medical supplies and started making some sort of herbal tea. Eurus lit up a small blue flame to heat it up.

Walking back to Viggo‘s bed she said:“Here, drink this. It‘ll help with the pain.“ She turned her head to Hiccup, „Would you help him sit up please?“, she asked. 

Hiccup gave a short nod and helped Viggo up, the man having a pained expression. As Eos handed him the tea, he looked at it suspeciously.

„You have nothing to worry about. If we had wanted you dead we wouldn‘t have helped you, would we?“, Eos said.

Viggo just nodded, eager for the pain to come to an end, as he started drinking it.

„It would probably be best if you rest for now. Your wounds are deep but you are really lucky that the arrows didn‘t get deep enough to penetrate any vital organs. I want you to stay in bed for the next five days, after that, I‘ll have you sit up and if that works out, I want you to try to stand and walk. You alright with that?“, the eastern princess explained.

Viggo just nodded as Hiccup slowly lowered him back down. He had just woken up, yet he was completely and utterly exhausted. His body needed rest to heal but his mind was eager to get back up and explore the island and of course, figure out where he was going to go next. He hadn‘t planned on actually surviving all of this.  
As Hiccup and Eos walked out to let him rest Viggo called after them.

„Wait!“, they turned around. „Where is the Skrill?“  
Eos smiled. „In the stables, with the other dragons. I‘ll go get him for you. Rest now, he‘ll be there when you wake up.“, she said, kindness lacing her words.

 

Outside Astrid was waiting on the two best friends. She looked worried.

„Hey, something bothering you Astrid?“, Hiccup greeted a bit worried.

„Heather and Dagur are here and the twins told them what happened. Them, and some of us, want to know what our next move will be.“

„Next move?“, Eos inquiered.

„Yes. What are we going to do with Viggo?“

„Alright, clubhouse everyone.“, came Hiccups leader voice.


	5. Chapter 4

Arriving at the clubhouse Eos could already hear Heather yelling at her brother about how she would kill Viggo and how she didn‘t believe the Riders actually helped him. Eos didn‘t like that side of Heather. She knew the girl as a kindhearted, calm person but only towards friends. She knew that once you had made it into Heathers heart, she would fight to death for you but if you were Heathers foe you‘d have to fight for your life. Forgivness was something she still had to get used to. That was evident to see when she was first struggling to forgive her own brother, which of course she did by now. They‘ve come a long way.

Walking inside Eos was getting ready for a discussion as to why they should‘ve helped Viggo and why they should continue to do so. In the back of her mind she was hoping the riders would back them up. But knowing her friends at least Astrid and Snotloud should have a serious problem with Viggo staying for much longer. Fishlegs may have concearns to. The twins would definitly want Viggo to stay but they couldn‘t give a better argument than that the way Viggo talked was cool. She just hoped Hiccup was on her side. After all, the fromer Dragon Hunter had safed him. Something inside her just wanted to give this man a second chance. He had already proven that he deserved it.

„Hiccup, finally! What‘s this talk about you guys _saving Viggo Grimborn_?!“, Heather snapped, as soon as the trio walked in.

„Now, now, sister, let‘s give Hiccup a second to explain before you bash him.“, Dagur started, then turned to Hiccup. „Sorry brother. Fishlegs already explained you had a good reason.“

„No, he didn‘t. Viggo Grimborn is a madman and a danger to the Archipelago.“, Heather argued.

„Just like your own brother used to be. And yet, you are able to forgive him but not Viggo? Give him a chance Heather.“, Eos said, stepping in with a soft tone.

„She has a point there, Heather. People change, I went through it myself.“ Dagur was trying to calm his sister down.

„But should we really trust this guy after all he‘s done? I mean just a month ago he was still trying to take over the Edge and find the King of Dragons.“, Astrid brought up. „How do we know this isn‘t just one of his dirty tricks?“

„Astrid, you weren‘t there when he sacrifised himself. I could just tell the vicious buisness man he used to be wasn‘t there anymore. And he won‘t return, I just know that. And, if you guys like it or not, he‘s staying. I owe him that. If he does turn on us we can still defeat him easily. He‘s all alone, we can easily overpower him.“, Hiccup said.

„Hold on now, he has the Skrill. That dragon can defeat us.“, Snotloud chimmed in.

„The fact that that dragon trusts him is sign enough that we can trust him as well. A Skrill doesn‘t just trust anyone. He must have seen something in Viggo that we just couldn‘t, at least at, that point.“ And with that argument Eos ended the debate.

She started to walk out when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Turning around she faced Heather.

„You can‘t just trust everyone blindly. It‘ll get you killed.“

„I don‘t trust him blindly. I am still on edge about him, but if he did change I don‘t want to be the one that pushes him away and leaves him alone because of mistakes of the past. You of all people should know what that‘s like, Heather.“

„Do you remember his father?“, Heather asked quietly, a hint of a threat in her voice.

„People aren‘t always their past. Let it go.“

Eos headed to the stables leaving Heather there with the other Riders. But Heathers words didn‘t leave her mind.  
Arriving at the stables she opened the cage of the Skrill and slowly aproached it, softly laying a hand on it‘s snout. The dragon seemed to trust her since she had saved Viggo last night. She walked out again leading the dragon to Hiccups hut, were Viggo lay, again sleeping peacfully. The dragon seemed overjoyed to see him and after sniffling at him for a second it curled up in front of him.  
Eos walked closer to the bed. She looked at the Dragon Hunter crest on Viggos belt. Suddenly, vivid images of her island on fire flooded her mind. She shook her head and faced the other way. She had to remember that that hadn‘t been him, it had been his father. Yet, he hadn‘t been a lot diffrent when he was still leading the Dragon Hunters. And then, all of the sudden, Heathers words from earlier came back into her mind again, this time accompanied with doubts about the words she had previously spoken.

But looking at him now he seemed just so peaceful. She remembered the story Hiccup had told the Dragon Riders of how Viggo had saved him. 

„People aren‘t always their past.“, she whispered, repeating the words her father had told her. She had an inner conflict about this man but she wouldn‘t let the second chance he had gotten go to waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed that chapter!
> 
> I feel like this is an important chapter for Eos as we start to see deeper in her mind and her feelings. I would love to hear what you think of her so far!


	6. Chapter 5

Five days had passed of Viggo only laying in bed, not being able to do very much. At this point he was eager to get up and go outside for a while. As the sun was rising Eos walked in, always already up at early dawn. Upstairs Viggo heard Hiccup stirring awake.

„Why are you always up so early?“, Hiccup complained with a groan.

„Why do you always stay up so late?“, Eos replied, sarcasm lacing her words.

Viggo couldn‘t help but chuckle lightly under his breath. This girl definitly had humor.

„So, Viggo, ready to try and get up?“, Eos asked, turning her attention to him.

When Viggo gave a confirming nod and Eos grabbed his hand to help him sit up.

„So, you‘re just going to stand up first, okay? No walking until I say so. And whatever you do, do not lock your knees.“, Eos explained.

When Viggo was standing and everything seemed normal, Eos gave him permission to walk around the room. Viggo was walking in his usual upright manner and when asked if he was in any pain the answer was no.

„Alright then. How about we take a walk to the clubhouse? The others should be waiting there to hear about his condition.“, Hiccup suggested, looking over at Eos as if to ask for permission. She just nodded and the trio went outside.

Viggo took in a deep breath of fresh air, making the slight fog in his mind, that had build up during his days inside, disappear.   
Arriving at the clubhouse Hiccup again sat everyone down.

 

„So guys. Now that Viggo is healthy enough we have to make a clear desicion. Is Viggo going to stay or not?“

„If you would allow me, I would really appreciate being permitted to stay. I could help you find that last lens and stop Johann and Krogan from finding the King of Dragons.“, Viggo said.

„I say he stayes. He knows more about the Dragon Eye than any of us. And he knows Johann and Krogan. Knowing at least what kind of tactics they like to use would already be a big help.“, Eos suggested.

„Agreed, having Viggo on our side would definitly be and advantage.“, Fishlegs answered.

„I‘m down.“, said Tuff. „Yeah, me too.“, Ruff agreed. Of course they where.

„How about you Astrid?“; Hiccup asked, his betrothed standing across the room with a concearned face.

„You know how I feel, Hiccup. But whatever you decide, I‘ll support you.“, she answered. Hiccups heart warmed at that.

„Okay hold on now, I don‘t think this is a good idea. This is Viggo Grimborn, the guy who wanted to kill us all!“, Snotloud argued.

„So, only one person who disagrees.. Hiccup?“, Eos looked at their leader.

„Sorry Snotloud. But Viggo‘s staying. Only on a trial basis though.“, turing to Viggo, he said:“You have a month to prove that you‘ve truly changed.“

After that, Hiccup assigned everyone their duties for the day. They where still after the lens of course, which was why Fishlegs and Hiccup would be going through all their lenses again today, to find clues for the last one they needed. He didn‘t ask Viggo to be there and Viggo wasn‘t about ask if he could. He knew it wasn‘t his place anymore. Hiccup just assigned Eos to teach Viggo how to fly while Astrid patrolled the island and Snotloud and the twins went to the markets for provisions.

Viggo didn‘t dare to speak when they walked to the stables. He knew, if wanted to defeat Johann and Krogan and start a new life, he would need the help of the Riders. However, he didn‘t plan on staying with them after they had saved the King of Dragons. This wasn‘t his place in the world, he knew that.

The training went well with Viggo picking things up even quicker than Dagur had. The sensation of flying gave him the feeling of great freedom, like he has never felt it before. The memory of his dark days as a hunter disppearing to the far back of his mind.  
At the end of a long day, the two finally landed after hours of training.

„You did good today. You‘ll be ready for air combat in no time.“, Eos praised him.

„Thank you, my dear. I myself was a bit surprised, I expected it to be a lot harder from what I have seen with Krogan and his dragon training.“

„Those Dragons aren‘t trained, they are being forced.“

„Couldn‘t agree more.“

„Mhm..“, she replied, losing herself in her thoughts for a second. „Would you like to head back to the clubhouse? To get some dinner?“, the girl asked.

Viggo gave her a nod and they headed back.

„I have to say, my dear, your skills are very impressive. I have rarly seen anything like it. It almost seems like you and your dragon share the same mind.“, Viggo said, trying to start a conversation.

„I guess you could say we kind of do. I‘ve practically had her since I was born.“

„Really? How so?“, the man inquiered.

„Tradition, I suppose.“, came her reply.

„What island are you from, Eos?“

She stopped walking and looked him dead in the eye, the smile that graced her lips seconds ago fading into an unreadable expression.

„That is non of your buisness. Don‘t ever ask me about that ever again.“

And the rest of the night, Eos didn‘t speak one word to Viggo.


	7. Chapter 6

A few days had past since Viggo first started training with the riders, however, after the incedent before dinner a few days prior, Hiccup had continued training Viggo. Whenever Viggo ran into Eos, she was her usual kind self and it seemed like she treated him as she treated all the other Riders. But when asked to train with him or go get provisions with him or spend any longer amount of time with him, she always declined, finding some excuse so she didn‘t have to. Viggo hated to admit it but the girls odd behaviour bothered him. At least he could kind of guess how the other Riders would react when he did or said something but he could never predict how Eos would.

As Viggo had started another training session with Hiccup, Astrid and Eos came back from patrol. Euros and Eos approched the two men while Stormfly and Astrid headed straight to the clubhouse.

„Everything alright?“, Hiccup asked.

„There was a… situation with some Dragon Hunters. I think we should talk, Hiccup. It‘s time that we do something about these Singtails.“, Eos replied.

Arriving at the clubhouse, with the others already being there, the trio walked in, leaving their dragons outside.

„So, uh, Hiccup, did you notice that these Flyers just get more and more Singtails, no matter how many we free?“; Sontloud immediatly got to the point.

„Yeah, Hiccup it‘s insane. They have so many! Their patrols are so big, it looks like they‘re heading into battle.“, Astrid agreed.

„We just saw one of their patrols, that‘s why we‘re concearned. They have started patrolling all the areas we don‘t patrol in, always exactly a the boarders, just to make sure we don‘t get to close to them. We were lucky they didn‘t see us, they would have overpowered us in mere seconds.“, Eos explained.

 

„If I may, I believe I know where Krogan get‘s his Singtails.“, Viggo said, joining the conversation. „When I was still working with Krogan he‘d never answer my questions about the Singtails, probably beacuse he was afraid I‘d use his tactics for my own benefit. So, I had to do my own research. I found plans of capturing a Death Song so they could use it‘s abilitys to get more Singtails in a shorter amound of time. However, I couldn‘t find anything as to where this is supposed to be happening.“

„Then we have to find out where he‘s hiding it.“, Hiccup said and took out his map and the Dragon Eye, to try and figure out where this trap may have been set up. Eos soon joined him, as well as Fishlegs, as they accounted all the factors of where a good set-up for a Singtail-Trap was.

„Woah..“, Snotloud started, turning to Viggo. „I didn‘t think you‘d actually help us.“

„Well, I‘m glad that I could be of use.“, the former hunter replied, his usual sumg smile on his lips.

„Hiccup.. do you think Garf‘s okay?“, Astrid asked.

„They wouldn‘t have taken him, Astrid.“, Eos said, before Hiccup could answer.

„How do you know?“, the girl asked, nervousness lacing her words.

„Garf‘s still pretty young. Younger Death Song Dragons tend to be a lot more aggressive then the older ones. That would make to much trouble for Krogan and it wouldn‘t even be worth it, since younger Death Songs voices aren‘t as developed as old ones. He wouldn‘t even be able to get enough dragons for Krogan. No, I‘m sure that Krogan captured the adult Death Song.“, Eos explained.

Viggo looked at the girl, impressed by her knowledge of this rare kind of dragon. She seemed to know a lot about dragons in general, but especially the ones who are more on the rare side. She herself had a dragon that Viggo never thought he‘d see in real life. Silver Phantoms were not only rare but incredably shy and private Dragons who hated human contact. At that point in time, Viggo really believed that this girl and her dragon would always stay a mystery to him.

„I must say, my dear, I‘m very impressed. How do you know so much on this dragon?“, Viggo inquiered.

Eos stood with her back turned towards him and made no effort in turning around to answer him face to face. Instead she simply said:“I did my research.“

„Yes, clearly, but..“, Viggo stopped in his tracks as Astrid shot him a glare and Hiccup shook his head.

Without another word Eos left the room, her hood pulled up. Viggo looked at her as she walked past him, a monotone look on both of their face. When she was out of earshot he looked back at Hiccup.

„Something I said?“, he asked.

„Eos doesn‘t always like to talk about her past.“, Hiccup explained and Astrid added:“That only applies to certain people though.“

„I see...“, Viggo mumbled in response.

„No, no you do not. You don‘t even _see_ the half of it.“, Astrid snapped, her tone dripping with venom.

 

Later that night, after dinner, Hiccup explained the plan to attack Krogans Singtail-Trap, telling everyone exactly what to do.

„...before we go in though, we‘re going to need a distraction. Eos, with Eurus‘ ability to hide in the clouds you should have no problem getting close enough to fire at them and cause some initial commotion. After that you‘ll keep the remaining hunters busy. The twins and Viggo will help you with that.“

„Woah there, slow down. Viggo? Do you really think that‘s a good idea?“, Eos complained.

„Oh, my dear Eos, I must say, it does hurt that you don‘t trust me to assist you.“, it almost seemed like sarcasm laced Viggos words. Eos didn‘t know the always so serious buisness man was capable of that.

„You haven‘t even been training for a full month, Viggo. You and your dragon are nowhere even near ready for something like this.“, Eos argued, temper rising in her voice.

„Eos, he has a Skrill. You realize that that‘s a really big advantage for us, right? We‘ve got to use that.“, Hiccup explained.

„I still believe this isn‘t a good idea. But whatever you decide, I will accept.“, Eos said, with a sigh.

„Thanks, Eos.“, Hiccup replied with a smile. „Let‘s head to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.“


	8. Chapter 7

The Riders were flying in a perfect dimond-formation quickly approaching the island. Eos and Eurus were all the way in the back and the girl had pulled up her hood and put her facemask on. You could barely even see her piercing green eyes through the black fabric. Eos heared her dragons big wings flapping and felt her strong muscles underneath her skin. She felt powerful when she was riding that dragon. Like they could take on anything. She didn‘t usually feel like that without Eurus. Sure, she was good with her swords, but she used more technique than actual strengh. The girl was inelligent but not strong. On her island, a strong mind meant something but out here, people had the mindset of ‚hit it until it does what you want‘. She was glad that at least her best friend wasn‘t like that. Hiccup used his head. Eos looked over to the man riding the Skirll in front of her. She supposed he had that trait aswell.

„Alright, we‘re here gang. Eos, are you ready?“, Hiccup asked.

Eos nodded and shot up into the clouds with Eurus. The dragon was perfectly hidden in the white clouds that mached her scales. When she was just above the island she could her the Death Song and some Singtails screeching.

„Alright girl, let‘s go.“, Eos whispered in her dragons ear.

They started to fly towards the island and stayed just under the clouds still barely visable. Eurus started blasting some catapults and some archers but didn‘t yet start to fire in the middle of the island, where the Death Song was. Only as she had taken out the first defenses Viggo and the twins joined her to keep the rest of the Hunters busy.   
Eos was now flying closer to the ground, taking out groups of archers and heating up the cocoons, in which the Singtails were trapped to add to the commotion so the rest of the Riders could free the Death Song.  
Eos landed next to a Singtail and told Eurus to free it when, all of the sudden, another Singtail attacked her and blasted Eos off her dragon. She landed hard on the stone ground. As she looked up, Eurus had set the other Singtail free, but now they were both attacking her dragon. This didn‘t make sense. Whey wouldn‘t the Singtails leave? To make matters worse, Eos could now hear Hunters approaching. She looked up at the sky and saw all the other Riders getting chased by Singtails as well. Realizing no one was going to save her, Eos got up and took out her two slim swords (they are similar to katanas). The Hunters immediatly started shooting arrows as soon as they saw her. Eos managed to dodge the first wave but she knew she wouldn‘t always be able to do so. She ran at the first Hunter and quickly cut his bow in half, making it useless. She then kicked him in his face, just before the next Hunter came at her, throwing punches at her. He managed to hit Eos‘ jaw and she fell to the ground. In the meantime, the other Hunters had shot arrows at the batteling dragons who were now laying on the ground and were about to be put in cages.

Upon seeing that Eurus was being grabbed by Hunters, Eos shot up and ran toward her, just to be held back by the Dragon Hunter that had knocked her down seconds ago.

„Sorry girl. You‘re coming with us. Krogan has been dying to see the pretty face behind that mask.“, the Hunter sneered in her ear. 

Then he hit her face again, this time hard enough to make the world around her go black. Eos expected to hit the ground but was cought by the Hunter and thrown over his shoulder. She heard a familiar voice yelling at the Hunter but the feeling of darkness only grew and soon the voice disppeared and was replaced by a soft ringing in her ears.


	9. Chapter 8

When Eos woke up, she felt stone underneath her. The air was cold and damp. She was in a cave. When she opened her eyes, she saw metal bars in front of her. 

Locked up in Dragon Hunter prison. Great.

„Ah, good, you‘re awake. I was starting to grow worried.“, a voice spoke from beside her.

Locked up in Dragon Hunter prison with Viggo. Even better.

Taking a deep breath in she calmed herself. Yes, she didn‘t quite like the guy, but what had happened to her wasn‘t his fault. She had to remember that. Maybe this was her chance to actually get to know the new Viggo Grimborn.

„How did they get you? Are the other Riders okay?“, Eos asked.

„The others got out fine, I believe, but I didn‘t see them freeing the Death Song.“  
Eos nodded and got up to take a look at the bars. Maybe she could find a way to get out of here.

„As for me,“, Viggo continued. „When I saw that that Dragon Hunter had caught you I tried to help you and Eurus.“

„How‘d that work out for you?“, Eos giggled lightly, sarcasm dripping from her words. But in the back of her mind she was kind of touched. He had gotten caught trying to rescue her. Maybe Hiccup was right and he wasn‘t so bad. At least not anymore.

Viggo chuckled lightly. „I suppose you were right.“, he said.

Eos, deciding that the cell door couldn‘t be broken, sat back down next to Viggo.

„About what?“, she asked.

„About me and Leiptr not being ready for battle. They caught us fairly quick.“, Viggo almost sounded dissappointed.

Eos looked at him in understanding. She knew what it was like to think that you were unbeatable with a dragon.

„When you get a dragon, it may feel like you can do anything. But you have to stay clear and remember, that you aren‘t the dragon. You and the dragon are a team and in a team, everyone fights. And not for himself but for the other. In your mind, the dragon should always come first. That’s how you win battles. Or at least that’s a part of it.”, Eos explained.

“May I ask what the other part is?”

“Enough training.”, she said sarcasticly.

Viggo chuckled lightly at that. A warm feeling grew in Eos chest. They definitly had the same humor. Maybe they could be friends after all.

“Do you know where our dragons are?”, Eos asked.

Viggo was about to answer when a new voice joind their conversation.

“Trust me, they’re exactly where they should be.”, Krogans voice boomed through the cave. 

Instinctivly Eos reached for her hood and mask but noticed they were gone. Fear overcame her. She knew, what was about to happened would be bad.

“Looking for these, _princess_?”, Krogan asked, holding the hood and mask up. “So, the Protecters are back in the Archipelago? Where’s Hákon, hm?”

“Don’t bother asking for him, he’s not here.”, the girl answered with a cold tone.

“So you’re all alone? No big, strong brother to protect you? Oh, _poor little princess_.”, Krogan mocked.

“Cut it out, Krogan!”, she yelled. “I’m not a princess.”

“You’re the daughter of a chief and in the east, that is called a princess, am I correct? Stop denying it.”, Krogan continued his childish banter. To Viggo it almost seemed like these two had had conversations like this for years.

Eos looked down and pulled her knees to her chest. If she could, she would jump at him.

“Oh, stop tormenting her, Krogan. What are you getting out of this?“, Viggo asked in a defensive tone.

„Viggo, you better watch your mouth. Last time I tried to kill you, you lived. This time you won‘t be that lucky.“, he said with a threatening voice. „And as for what I‘m getting out of this. Our princess here posseses a lens.“, he said. „I‘ll see you two tonight.“, and with those words Krogan walked off as quick as he had appeared.

There was a long silence. Viggo wasn‘t quite sure what to do. Eos seemed upset, but he didn‘t know her well enough to know what she needed right now. He wasn‘t even sure what people usually do in this situation. Normally he wouldn‘t mind and carry on whatever conversation they had had before but in the past two weeks he‘s spent with the Riders they really did grow on him, just like Eos did. They didn‘t seem to trust him a lot just yet and they had good reasons for it but the fact that they were making an effort touched his usually so unmovable soul. Well, if they could make an effort, so could he.

„I suppose you don‘t want to talk about what just happened, especially with me, but if I can be of any assistence then please let me know.“, Viggo said with a warm tone.  
„Well… you basically already know half of it, I might as well tell you.“, the girl began. „I‘m from The Island of the Protecters. My father‘s the chief and my brother, Hákon, is the next in line. Our job has always been to protect rare and endangered dragons to make sure the natural balance of species stays the way it‘s supposed to be. In return, the dragons help us with defending our island and with harvesting and with fishing and all that kind of stuff.“, she explained.

„Forgive me, but how is that connected to Krogan and the mask you are always wearing?“, he asked, curiosity coming over him. 

„Well, as you can imagine, protecting dragons that Hunters prefer to hunt, doesn‘t really make you popular with them. Krogan and his imployer know about us and them knowing that I am here to help the Riders might set something off between the Hunters and the Protecters again.“, she explained.

„Again?“, Viggo asked.

Eos cursed herself in her mind. Why did that had to slip out of her mouth? She looked into Viggo’s eyes, one brown and one gray, blinded by scorching lava. She saw curiosity in them. Not hate, not any bad intentions.

„You really don‘t know, do you?“, Eos asked.

„I‘m afraid I don‘t.“, was his reply. She gave a deep sigh and looked at the ground. 

“When I was only five years old, my village was attacked. They were shooting flaming boulders, arrows, ballistas… everything they had. My mother took my brother and me to our great hall, were we would hide with the others, while my father and his brother let our men into battle. We did win that night, with the dragons help, but the great hall caught on fire because of one of the boulders. My brother grabbed me and got me out of there, but we lost our mother in the fire. We never found her remains, so we don’t know if she burned to ashes or if the Hunters took her.”, Eos told him.

“Wait.. the Hunters?”, Viggo asked.

“It was your father who attacked us that night, Viggo.”


	10. Chapter 9

Shortly after the conversation had ended, two Hunters arrived and took Eos away, so she could talk to Krogan. When the Hunters brought her back hours later, she looked a bit disheveled. One of her braids had become a bit undone and she had a bruise forming on her right check. The Hunters pushed her and she stumbled forward into the cell. Viggo silently offered her a seat beside him.

Eos sat down and started rebraiding her hair. There was no window of any sort down in the dungeon but form the amount of time they had spent there, she guessed it was shortly before midnight.

“Are you alright?”, Viggo asked. Eos jumped a little. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to scare you.”, he continued.

“No, it’s okay.”, she said. “I was just caught up in my thoughts. I’m alright, don’t worry.”

“Krogan said he wanted a lense form you. I never knew you had one.”, Viggo said curiosly.

“That’s because I don’t. See, our tribe has a lot of silly traditions. One of them being, that the first born of the chief, of course, is the next in line, with the second born being the future general. That’s why it’s so important that the second born child get’s a dragon fairly early on. Anyway, our tribe has two dragon eye lenses in it’s possesion. When the next chief and general start out, they receive the lenses from the former ones. However, these must then be hidden somewhere on the island, where only they can find it. So even if I wanted to, I couldn’t give Krogan a lense. My uncle still has it.”

“Then why don’t you tell Krogan just that? He’d leave you alone.”

“Correct, he would leave me alone. And then he would attack our island.”

Viggo mentally cursed himself for not thinking of that. What was wrong with him? He usually noticed every detail.

“Of course.. but, if he knows your family has a lense why doesn’t he just attack it anyway?”, he asked further.

“Beacuse he doesn’t know for sure if the lenses belong with the five lenses that lead to the King of Dragons. And he needs to be sure that one of them does before he attacks a giant island that has an army of dragon riders who have been training with their dragons all of their life. No, he needs to know for sure before he risks that. And when he does, I’m sure he’ll use me to get it.”, Eos said, a shiver running down her spine.

“Not to worry, that will not happen.”,Viggo said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“How so?”, Eos inquiered, making no attempt to stop him from touching her, like she usually would.

“While you where gone, some Hunters who are still loyal to me came by. Their next patrol around the dungeon will be in about an hour. Everyone should be asleep at that time, so it should be easy for us to slip away once they open our cell.”, Viggo explained his plan.

“And our dragons?”, Eos asked.

“They will show us where they are and let them go free with us.”

“Not bad, Grimborn. Not bad at all.”, Eos said smiling.

“Thank you. In the meantime try to rest. It will be a long flight back to the edge.”, Viggo said, sounding almost kind.

Eos nodded and put her hand on his, that was still resting on her shoulder. A silent thank you. Then she got up and curled up in a corner of the cell, a bit further away from Viggo. The man looked at her, while she was slowly falling asleep. When he was about to lay down himself, he heard a soft voice speak.

“Do you think the other Riders are looking for us?”, Eos asked.

“I’m certain that they are.”, Viggo replied calmly. “Krogan just brought us to one of his bases at the very end of the Archipelago. It’s a bit hard to find if you don’t know it exists. But I’m sure Hiccup wouldn’t let you fall into the hands of Johann and Krogan. You don’t deserve such a fate.”

“Neither do you.”, Eos said before she fell asleep.

Viggo could only smile at her. The kindness in her heart truly was unique.


	11. Chapter 10

“Eos? Eos, wake up!”, Viggo whispered, softly shaking her awake. As she opened her eyes she saw an open cell door and two Hunters waiting on them. She got up and Viggo and her walked out of the cell, slowly closing it, so it wouldn’t make a lot of sound. The Hunters started to walk to a different part of the dungeon. Propably where their dragons were being locked up. Eos was starting to grow impatient and walked faster, shooting angry glares at the Hunters.

“It’s just around that corner.”, one of them said after what seemed like an eternaty.  
Eos quickly ran around the corner, expecting to see her beloved dragon, Viggo hot on her heels, eager to see Leiptr again. But all they found was empty cages.

“What?”, Eos turned around and pulled out her swords. “Viggo, what is this? Where are they?”

Viggo could tell how angry she was. He understood, he was just as upset as she was. Krogan had probably just moved them so they wouldn’t be easy to find in case they did find a way out. Viggo had done that several times when he had captured a Rider and their dragon.

“I told you princess, they’re exactly where they should be.”, Krogan said, stepping out of the shadows. “Cease them!”, he yelled. 

Hunters started to jump out of hiding places, surrounding the two. Eos, her swords still in her hands, got ready to fight them to get to her dragon. But suddenly she felt someone grabbing her arm and running away, pulling her with them. Looking in front of her she saw Viggo had grabbed her wrist and was leading her outside the caves of the dungeon. When she looked back, she saw the Hunters following them close by. She began running quicker. Outside the caves Viggo pushed her into some bushes, just before the Hunters could see where they went. But Viggo didn’t stop running nor did he let go of Eos arm. He kept running until they arrived at the dock and was about to jump on board of a ship when Eos suddenly stopped in her tracks. She could hear the Hunters approaching quickly but this time she didn’t care. 

“Hold on there. I’m not leaving without Eurus.”

“Eos, I know how much you care about her but she’s not here anymore. Krogan moved her. And if we get captured again, we may never find her. We have to leave.”, Viggo explained.

Eos looked at him reluctantly and gave a deep sigh. Then she jumped on board of the ship with Viggo following her. They were lucky there was a strong wind blowing as they set the sail. They were almost out of the port, when Eos heard dragons approaching. Turning around she saw Krogan and a group of his Flyers nearing them with their Singetails. Fear overcame her as she looked over to Viggo who also just realized the situation.

“Viggo, their going to attack, what are we going to do? We have no defenses and no cover out here!”, Eos asked, despair in her voice. She didn’t want to die knowing her dragon was in the hands of these Hunters.

“We have to make Krogan think he’s got us. When he believes the ship will sink and take us with it, he’ll leave us alone.”

“But he needs me! He doesn’t have the information yet. He won’t let me die.”  
“What Krogan needs is the lense. And if you are more of an inconvenience than an actual advantage he’ll leave you alone. We have to let them think that they killed us.”, Viggo pushed on.

“And how do we do that without actually dying?”, Eos asked critical.

“Just trust me please. I do realize you have no reason to do so, but I promise that no harm will come to you.”, Viggo said hopefully.

Eos was uncertain but if there was one thing she knew about Viggo Grimborn, then it was that he truly was a man of his word. So she gave him a curt nod.  
They started stearing the ship west, heading towards an island Eos couldn’t see, when Krogan started the attack. Five Singetails were relentlessly firing at the small ship that had no way of defending it self. There was fire and smoke everywhere, Eos could hardly see. She was coughing hard and was barely able to breathe. Eos jumped to the side to dodge yet another shot from a Singetail, when she felt the ship was starting to sink. There were burning holes in the deck that grew bigger by the second. Carefully walking around them, her eyes darted around the ship, looking for Viggo. Where was he? They needed to get out of there!  
Luckyly, Krogan started to fly off at this point, thinking they would certainly die. Viggo’s plan had worked, but it may have worked a bit to well. Eos continued walking around the ship, calling for Viggo. How would she ever survive this? The ship was on fire and sinking and there was no island close by, except Krogans base.  
Just as she was about to jump into the water, to try and swim back to Krogans base, the only available land close by, a hand grabbed hers and pulled her to the other side of the ship.

“Where were you? I was looking for you!” Eos yelled at Viggo.

“Apologies, I was preparing the lifeboat.”, Viggo said.

_"This ship has a lifeboat?"_ , Eos asked anger seeping into her voice.

“Yes, a hidden one, Krogan doesn’t know about these. One advantage when your enemy steals your fleet.”, Viggo said, getting in and offering Eos a hand to help her.  
She, however, completely refused his help and jumped in herself. Viggo quickly detached the lifeboat from the ship before it could catch fire too. As he started rowing, he noticed the glare Eos was giving him.

“Something wrong, my dear? Are you hurt?”, he asked almost sounding _concearned_.

“You could’ve told me that there was a hidden lifeboat.”, she said.

“And what fun would that’ve been?”, Viggo said sarcasticly.

“Unbelievable.”, Eos said under her breath. “You may have switched sides but you’re still a bastard.”


	12. Chapter 11

It was midday when Viggo and Eos arrived at an island. They had barly talked all day. At the beginning Viggo had still been quite chatty but since he was rowing he was getting more and more tired. Now that they had arrived at the island he was absolutly exhausted, but he wasn’t about to show Eos his exhaustion. Little did he know, that Eos had already noticed long ago and somewhere in the back of her mind she was a little worried. But of course she wasn’t about to show that either. She was still mad at him for scaring her like that. 

“We should look for a place to stay for tonight. It’ll be dark in a few hours.”, Viggo suggested.

“Sorry, not happening.”, Eos said. “I’m going to go look for a dragon and fly it back to the edge. Hiccup will surley help us get our dragons back.”, Eos said.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there aren’t any dragons here. Unfortunedly Krogan and I had them all hunted down when I was still his ally.”, Viggo said.

“Of course you did...”, Eos spat under her breath. She was about to walk away when Viggo grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes.

“Eos, please believe me when I say that I am so very sorry for everything I have done when I was a Hunter. I have no excuse for that and I apologize. And I do also apologize for what happened in these past few days. I myself am also really infuriated by these developments. I care for Leiptr like you care for your dragon. He saved my life. I hope you can forgive me for everything that happened.”, he said.

“I already have forgiven you, Viggo.”, Eos said quietly. You could tell she was having a hard time admitting that. ‘People aren’t always their past’ she remembered. “And thank you.”

“For what, my dear?”, he asked, sounding surprised for once. For once he wasn't hiding all his emotions.

“For going after me and Eurus when we got captured.”

Viggo saw a little blush rising on Eos cheeks. She was shyly smiling up to him. And then, all of the sudden a feeling started to grow in Eos chest. It was warm and it felt like home. Looking into Viggos eyes made the feeling grow even more. Uncomfortable and unsure what to do, she freed her hand from his grasp.

“Should we go look for shelter? It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”, Eos said, her voice a bit shaky. She just hoped Viggo didn’t notice.

“Yes, I suppose you are correct. There are several caves on the other side of the island. However, we should hurry a bit. It is quite far.”, Viggo said. Eos gave him a nod and let the man take the lead.

During the walk across the island they came through a forest. Eos suggested that they already start collecting wood for the fire so they could immediately start it when they found a suitable cave. It seemed to be going really well and they made good progress, having lighthearted conversation during the walk. But Eos did notice that the exhaustiom in Viggo’s voice was only growing. 

“...and that was the very first time I beat my grandfather in Maces and Talons. I was so proud.”, Viggo finished his story when it started to drizzle.

“Yeah, I can imagine why. He seems like a really good player.”, Eos said.

“Oh, he was. Best one I ever met. Well, except probably Hiccup.”, Viggo sounded a bit thoughtful.

“You think you can show me how to play when we get back to the edge?”, Eos asked curiously.

“You don’t know how to play?”, Viggo asked astonished.

“The others would never show me. Well, Hiccup wanted to, but Snotloud always protested. He said that if I knew how to play, no one would ever be able to win a match again.”, Eos said giggling lightly.

“Are you that much of a strategist?”, curiosity was seeping back into Viggo’s words. The rain got stronger and a harsh wind was blowing. Their clothes were already drenched.

“Well, I have to be. I’ll be a general one day.”, Eos said. “We should hurry. The rain is getting pretty bad.”, she continued.

“It’s right over there.”, Viggo pointed towards a cave.

Eos was shaking a bit when they entered the cave, rubbing her arms to get warm, while Viggo was starting the fire. He was glad Eos didn’t mention the soft shivers he had. Normally he didn’t get cold this quickly but he truly was very tired. Besides that, the sun had gone down and had taken it’s warmth with it. Luckyly he got the fire started pretty quickly and the two relaxed a bit as they started to warm up.

“So, what’s our next move? How are we getting off of this island?”, Eos asked.

“When the Hunters send Terror Mail, most of the time the Terrible Terrors stop here for a short amound of time. They are small dragons and can’t fly very far without taking a break. All we need to do is capture one of them when they land here and then send a massage to Hiccup.”, Viggo explained.

“Brilliant.”

“Why, thank you.”, Viggo’s voice shook a bit.

“Are you alright, Viggo? You look a bit pale.”, Eos asked, concearn slipping into her voice.

“Merely a bit tired. It has been quite a day.”, Viggo replied, sounding a bit too nonchalant for Eos taste.

“May I just take a short look at you? Just to be save?”, Eos asked.

“If it gives you peace of mind, do as you please.”, Viggo said.

Eos put her ear to his chest and listened to his breathing. The quick movement and her being so close to him caught Viggo a bit off guard. Next, she put a hand to his forehead and then let it slip down to his cheek. Eos was way to focused to notice that it was his scarred side that she was touching. She then put her hand on his neck to check his pulse.

“You do feel a bit warm. Not quite a fever yet, but it could turn into one. I saw some herbs on my way here that I could make tea out of. I’ll go look for them. It’ll help.”, Eos said calmly.

Viggo chuckled lightly. She was quite adoreable, when she was taking care of people.

“Thank you, my dear.”, he said. “But I must insist that you don’t go out there by yourself. We are way to close to Krogans base.”

“Well, you are surely not coming with me. You need to warm up and rest.”, she said. Viggo was about to protest but Eos wouldn’t let him “Sorry, healers orders. You have to listen to me.”, then she continued with a softer voice “Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know I’m gone. I'm not a little girl who's in need of constant protection."

Eos quickly walked out of the cave into the pouring rain and started to head back to were she first saw the herbs, leaving Viggo a bit stunned. She was almost there, when she saw a Terrible Terror sitting in a tree. It had a little note attached to it’s leg, so it had to be a trained one. It was sleeping so Eos hoped she could sneak up on it. She started to climb up the tree, carefully choosing were to put her hands and feet so she wouldn’t scare the dragon off. When she was directly in front of it, she slowly started to strail the dragons snout. The little guy sleepyly opened it’s eyes and looked at her. Eos took it in her arms and it curled up comfortably. She climbed down even more careful and quickly got the herbs she needed for Viggo before started to head back.  
When she arrived there Viggo was standing in front of the cave. She wasn’t sure if her eyes were decieving her but she thought, she saw a small smile of relieve on his face. Shivering, she walked into the cave, her clothes even more drenched than before.  
“I found a Terrible Terror.”, she said, her voice trembeling. She put the dragon down next to the fire, so it could warm up. “And I’ve got the herbs you need.”, she smiled.

“You didn’t have to do that for me.”, Viggo said.

“Don’t be silly. You needed them.”, she said. “Come on, give me your water bottle, I’ll make you the tea.”


	13. Chapter 12

A few hours after Eos had gotten back Viggo was still awake while the girl was peacefully sleeping next to him. They had sent a Terror Mail to the edge. The Riders should have gotten it by now and should already be on their way to get them. Meanwhile, Viggo was trying to think of a way to get Eurus and Leiptr back. Of course he missed his own dragon and cared for his well-being, but he also really felt like he needed to make up for Eos loosing her dragon. She had saved his life and talked the others into letting him stay on the edge. He’d already owed her and now, everytime he had tried to help her he had gotten her in bigger trouble. He needed to fix things and to repay her for all she’s done. She’d put a value on his live by safing it. She’d put a value on him. That was something Viggo wasn’t used to. At least not anymore. The only one to have ever done that was his grandfather. And his brother as well, but that changed once he became the chief. Since that day, Viggo didn’t have friends or family anymore. Only allies. Now that there were people who truly seemed to want him around, even if it came with a grain of distrust, he didn’t know how to act.  
Looking up, Viggo noticed that the fire was almost out. They didn’t have anymore wood so he got up to get some more. He couldn’t sleep anyway, a walk would surely help clear his mind. The rain had stopped not to long ago so at least he wouldn’t get soaked as soon as he walked outside.  
Outside a fresh wind blew in his face. He took a deep breath in and relaxed. Starting to walk towards the woods, he remembered the developments of the past few weeks. He remembered infultrating Johanns Base, Leiptr and the kindness of the Riders, especially Eos, even though things had been a bit tense with them at the beginning. He started to wonder when things had changed. When it had become so easy to talk to her. He remembered seeing Eos get attacked by that Hunter, remembered the anger that he couldn’t explain, felt it rising up inside him again. Conversation was still a bit difficult when they were first locked up together but it quickly got easier soon after. He still couldn’t explain what caused it.  
A bit later he noticed that he was on the beach were Eos and him had arrived a few hours earlier. Had he really walked that far? He sat down on a stone and looked at the spot were him and Eos had had their conversation a few hours prior. He had always viewed her as a kindhearted and forgiving person but he saw the very extend of that during their conversation. He never thought there would be a person who could just forgive him like that. Like she had. He never expected to be able to redeem himself and all the things he’s done. Viggo knew he wasn’t there yet, knew he hadn’t made up for everything he’s done and he wasn’t sure if he would ever fully be able to but just the thought of being given a chance made this determenation rise in him. He knew he had to destroy Johann and Krogan, stop what the three of them had started. What he had started.  
All of the sudden Viggo was pulled from his thoughts when someone laid a hand on his shoulder. He was about to reach for his sword when he heard a soft voice speak.  
“Hey, hold on there, it’s all good, it’s just me.”, Eos said. “What are you doing out here? Viggo, you’re shaking. You were already the exhausted when we got here, you need to rest.”, she said worriedly.

“I was actually hoping for my exhaustion to go unnoticed. But I suppose you are right, we should head back. The other Riders should arrive in the morning.”

Viggo got up and him and Eos started to head back to the cave to catch at least a bit of sleep before the others would arrive in the morning. There was a bit of an awkward silence before Eos broke it shortly before arriving at the cave.

“Why’d you leave the cave? Didn’t you want to get some sleep?”

“Oh, trust me, my dear, I would’ve loved to be able to sleep, but there was a lot on my mind. A lot has changed for me in these past few months.”

“I understand. But I hope you know that you can talk to us. To me, as well as the others.”

“You see, I was never able to fully grasp the concept of ‘talking’. I suppose I just wasn’t ever able to confide in anyone. I never was able to show weakness, I would’ve been killed if I had.”

“But that’s over now, Viggo. This is not a new chapter, it’s a hole new book. I get it if you don’t want to talk all the time and I understand if there are topics that you want to keep private, but it really does help to confide in others.”, she explained. “However, not tonight. We need to get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”, she continued, just as they arrived at the cave.

“Agreed.”, Viggo said thoughtfully, sitting down next to the fire place that had gone out long ago. He’d forgotten to get more wood.  
Eos laid down on the other side of the cave an wished him a good night. Laying down himself, Viggo answered her.

“Good night. And thank you, my dear.”

“For what?”

“For everything, I suppose. It’s… more difficult to put into words than I anticipated.”, he replied, still very much cought up in his thoughts.

“Your welcome, my friend”, she said. An Viggo could hear that she was smiling.


	14. Chapter 13

Eos and Viggo woke up to the familiar sound of a Night Furry flying trough the sky and the voices of the other Riders, calling out their names. Eos quickly ran outside, Viggo following her a bit slower. He was still exhausted, but he did look better than yesterday. 

“Eos!”, Astrid called out upon seeing her and Viggo. She flew down to her friend and gave her a hug, Hiccup following shortly after. The leader then looked at Viggo and greeted him with a smile and a nod.

“Are you two alright?”, Hiccup asked.

“We are just fine, my dear Hiccup, thank you for coming for us. However, right now, it’s imperative that we get our dragons back. Who knows what Krogan is doing to them.”, Viggo replied quickly, getting to the point immediately.

Eos put a hand on Viggo’s shoulder and said: ”Exactly. We have to find them, Hiccup!”

“Don’t worry, Eos. We will get Eurus and Leiptr back.”, Fishlegs replied.

“Any idea were they could be?”, Astrid asked.

“Maybe I could assist with that.”, Viggo started. “Krogan sometimes uses wild dragons that he captured to help train the Singetails. Simulation fights, if you will. The training facility isn’t all that far from here.”

“Got it. Astrid, Snotloud, take Viggo to that island and search it, without causing any commotion, we only want to know if they’re there. If you see any sign of Eurus and Leiptr, get back here right away. In the meantime, we’ll think of a plan to get them out.”, Hiccup said. 

A few hours later, everything was ready. Eurus and Leiptr really were there and were currently training with the Singetails. There weren’t a lot of guards there, since the Hunters never expected the Riders to find the training facilitly. Hiccup and Eos had formulated a plan, with Viggo chimming in from time to time, as soon as he got back. However, everytime he did, he received a dirty look from Astrid.

When they arrived at the island Eos and Viggo were dropped by the beach, while Astrid, Hicccup and the others started to free the Singetails and caused as much trouble as they could. And while the Hunters were tied up with the attack, the duo snuck in and started looking for their dragons. Walking past a tent Viggo suddenly stopped.

“Cover me.”, he said and walked in.

“Wait, Viggo! What are you doing?”, she whispered angryly.

Realizing that Viggo wasn’t listening, she sighed and took out her to swords, guarding the entrance of the tent. A few moments later, Viggo walked out again, a letter in his hand.

“What’s that?”, Eos asked.

“Nothing that should concern you, my dear. Let us find our dragons, shall we?” Eos just sighed and decided not to bother. Viggo was lucky her dragon was her first priority right now, otherwise he would’ve probably gotten into big trouble for such a reckless action.

They continued searching until they got to some cages, were their dragons were locked up.

“Eurus!”, Eos exclaimed happily, running towards the cage.

Viggo was at Leptrs side right away as well and the two quickly freed their dragons and got into the air. Eos shot a fireball into the sky, the sign for the other Riders to retreat. They had what they came here for. Now it was time to head back home. Viggo and her dodged some dragon root arrows but quickly were to far out of the Hunters reach. They were safe and they had gotten their dragons back. Eos was more than happy and even Viggo had an satisfied smile on his lips.  
The flight home was mostly silent, with Viggo and Eos explaining what had happened the past few days. Arriving at the edge, they soon had a big dinner, not just to celebrate the victory today but also because Eos and Viggo hadn’t eaten in a while. Viggo was sitting next to the twins, one on each side, them obviously bothering him with useless questions. Eos was seated on the other side of the table with Hiccup and Astrid. They were mostly silent but after a while Hiccup couldn’t help himself.

“Say Eos”, he started. “Did something… change between Viggo and you? Things seem so.. different.”, he said.

“I suppose I’m more comfortable around him. I didn’t fully trust him before this and with him asking questions about.. well.. you know, I just didn’t like talking to him. Things are just less tense now. You were right when you said he changed. That was proven to me in these past few days.”

“Well, I’m glad I have one person on my team. We’ll have to decide if we let him stay for good very soon. And I know someone who’s going to vote against it.”, with his last sentence he looked at Astrid.

“We’ve had this conversation before, Hiccup. We’re talking about Viggo Grimborn here. He’s a trickster and a deceiver. We can’t trust him.”

“But at this point he’s put his own life in danger _twice_ to safe a rider. That has to count for something.”, Eos argued.

Just as Astrid was about to answer, Viggo walked up to them and the discussion ceased. 

“I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but may I ask to join you? While I do appreciate Ruffnut and Tuffnut trusting me and finding a liking in me, conversing with them for a longer peroid of time appears to be rather difficult.”

Astrid was about to object but Hiccup beat her to it. “Of course you can sit with us.”, he said kindly, earning a deathstare from Astrid that luckily went unnoticed by Viggo, because he was getting a chair.

Sitting down, Viggo put an hand on Eos’ shoulder. “Are you alright? You seemed a bit quiet when we arrived.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.. just.. thinking.”, she said. “How was arriving back here for you? Still difficult?”, Eos asked.

“It’s starting to become easier. But it doesn’t particulary feel like ‘home’ yet.”, he replied.

The two got cought up in their conversation and didn’t even notice that Hiccup and Astrid had gotten up.  
“Hey, guys, Astrid and I are going to take a walk around the island. We have some things to talk about. Will you be fine?”, Hiccup asked.

“Yeah, of course. Have a good time guys.”, Eos said.

As they watched the two walk of, Viggo’s hand, that was still on Eos shoulder, slipped down to grap her hand. “How do you feel about a short flight around the island?”, Viggo suggested.

“Sounds good to me.”, Eos replied.


	15. Chapter 14

Eurus soared through the clouds high above the earth. The Silver Phantom was way faster than the Skrill could ever be and Viggo had to learn that the hard way. He had challanged Eos and her dragon to a race to the next sea stack, and they were already half way there when him and Leiptr had barly flown a third of the way. Now, alone with Leiptr, Viggo allowed himself to let a look of admiration slip onto his face. It wasn’t like anyone could see.  
Noticing that Eos had now landed on the sea stack, he stopped pushing Leiptr. No point in tiring him out when they had already lost. As they did finally arrive, Eos was sitting on the ground, leaning against her dragon.

“Finally made it?”, she asked sarcastically. Viggo chuckled.

“I have to say my dear, Eurus speed is quite impressive. How long have you two been training?”, he asked, sitting down a good two meters away from her, Leiptr behind him.

“Since I was five. But that doesn’t have anything to do with her speed. Silver Phantoms are just incredibly fast. I’d dare to say they are one of the fastest, if not the fastest dragon species.”

“I belive you might be correct.”, Viggo said quietly, a soft smile on his face. For the first time in forever, he finally felt like he could relax. He looked at the girl, that was smiling back at him.  
Viggo found himself admiring her beauty. Her piercing green eyes, the soft freckles on her cheecks, her shining brown hair and her pretty lips. He never noticed how stunning she actually was. She’d make someone really happy one day.  
Noticing that he was just staring at her, he cleared his throat and looked past her. The wind pick up and the air started to get a bit chilly. It would soon be winter. Eos started to shiver lightly, so Eurus laid her wing over the girl, who was leaning back and admiring the night sky. The light of the stars and the moon were glistening in her eyes. Viggo started to feel cold too.  
Suddenly, Leiptr started pushing his snout against Viggo’s back, softly nudging him forward. Viggo almost fell over and got up, about to ask his dragon what that was for, when Eurus lifed her massive wing back up and Leiptr pushed Viggo down, him landing roughtly next to Eos. She just giggled and helped him sit up next to her, Eurus bringing her wing back down, pushing them closer together.  
Eos, not thinking anything of it, just stared at the ocean, which was eluminated with the light of the moon. She saw dragons edge a bit further away in the distance, the light in the clubhouse still on, just like the lights in a few of the huts. The others must still be awake. Suddenly, she felt an arm around her shoulders. Viggo was pulling her close, but when she turned to look at him, he was absent-mindedly looking at the ocean and the island in front of him, just like Eos had a few moments ago. But the slight blush on his cheek didn’t go unnoticed. The girl just smiled softly and laid her head on his shoulder. This seemed to startle Viggo, because he jumped a little. He hadn’t expected Eos to allow this much phisical contact. They both knew that they were falling for the other, but they just weren’t ready to admit it to themselves or the other person.

“Looks peaceful, doesn’t it?”, Eos asked.

“Yes. It really does.”, Viggo started. “But as you know, my dear, peace can be such a fragile thing.”

“Hey, don’t think like that. We will defeat Johann and Krogan.”, Eos said, freeing herself from his arm and turning to him.

“I never said that we wouldn’t. But at what cost, my dear? I’ve lost so many things through this war. My tribe, my brother, my home. Half of my face.”, he said the last scentence bitterer than Eos had ever heard him speak.

“I’m sorry, Viggo. I truly am, so, so sorry.”

It felt like Eos words pierced right through his heart. She was the first person to ever show him empathy, the first person to truly care what this war was doing to him, the first person to not tell him to ‘thoughen up’ when he was hurting but instead showed him that he, as a person, had a value. She was the first to show him that he wasn’t just an important piece in the game of life, that wasn’t allowed to show weakness, that had to present his tribe properly, not like the whimp, like the runt he was, or used to be at least. She was the first to show him, that he was irreplacable.  
If Viggo hadn’t stopped himself there, he probably would’ve started to cry. What a pathetic sight that would’ve been. Then again, he was pretty pathetic already. No family, no tribe, no home, a scarred and mangled and ugly face and to top it all off he was at the complete mercy of his former advisaries and was even starting to fall for one of them. And in this very moment, he relized just what he used to be and what he had become. He’d never allowed his mind to take him this far, simply out of fear of realization, but Eos had unlocked that place in his mind. He almost started to grow angry at her for it. Now _he_ had to actually _deal_ with it. He was about to snap at her, but Eos apparently had noticed his change in energy and laid her hands on both sides on his face, one on his normal and one on his scarred jaw and forced him to look at her.

“Hey, Viggo listen, I get it. I get the feeling of loosing something, loosing someone...” _how **dare** she mention Ryker_ “but you have to look at the full picture.” This startled him out of his anger. Full picture? “You may have had to endure loss and pain, but it made you so much stronger and wiser. Even more than before. And you may have lost a lot but you also gained a lot. You have Leiptr, you have a friend in Hiccup and in me and trust me, the others will follow. And if you want it, you could even have a home with us. A safe one, for a change.”

Viggo looked at the ground, Eos hands slowly letting go of his face. He placed a hand on her arm and slowly looked back up at her, his soft smile of admiration returning.

“You really are quite something, aren’t you, my dear Eos?”, Viggo smiled softly.

“I try.”, she said. Viggo gave a small laugh. It almost seemed out of character for him. Then again, all of this was quite out of character. Before Viggo could reply, Eos had pulled him into a hug. The first _real_ hug he’s had since he had last seen his mother. He slowly wrapped his hands around Eos’ waist, unsure if he was doing it correctly. They stayed like that for a good minute, but then Viggo started to grow uncomfortable. He just wasn’t used to showing emotion yet, but at the same time he didn’t quite want it to end yet. Eos slowly started to let go though and when she did, their eyes locked.

“Should we head back?”, she asked shyly, changing the topic

“Yes, yes, of course, it is starting to get rather late.”  
Both got up hurriedly and jumped on their dragons. The flight back was short and silent and when they got back to the edge, Eos walked away quickly, with a hushed ‘Good night.’, leaving Viggo alone with very mixed emotions. Yet, somehow, he felt more comfortable and at peace than ever before.


	16. Chapter 15

The next week started out a bit rough for the riders. Autumn was starting to turn into winter and the temperatures where sinking rapidly. Soon snow would be covering the usually green island and they had to get ready for the harsh winter the Archipelago had to offer. Hiccup, wanting Astrid to get along with Viggo at least a little, decided to team them up in every task he gave one of them, which were a lot. Eos was also busy around the island, so the two didn’t get to talk much. Instead, Eos got to talk to Hiccup, her best friend a lot more. It had started to be a bit difficult to talk to him, since him and Astrid started dating. Eos, of course, respected their relationship and was happy for her friends, but it was good to have Hiccup for herself for a while. After all, they’d known eachother for forever.  
It was starting to be evening, when Hiccup and Eos were sitting in the clubhouse, having a lighthearted conersation over a drink, when Astrid came storming in, her clothes dripping wet. Viggo and Astrid where supposed to get more food and supplies so they had enough to last them the entire winter, but appearently it hadn’t gone so well.

“Okay, Hiccup, I am officially on my last straw with this guy. Viggo has got to go. Now!”, she yelled.

“Woah, woah, woah, Astrid. Slowly. What even happened?”, Hiccup said, getting up and handing his betrothed a blanked, she, however, knocked it out of his hand and continued ranting.

“We were at the Northern Markets, getting food supplies. I were standing at the docks and had just paid for everything, when a bunch of Hunters started attacking me and eventually chucked me in the water. I don’t think they knew I was a Rider, they just wanted our supplies. And Viggo didn’t do anything! All he did was pull me out of the water after the Hunters were gone and then he offered to pay the money to get the supplies we lost, because he was _oh, so sorry_ that he wasn’t there in time to help me when I got mugged! All Viggo is, is a coward! He doesn’t belong with us.”, Astrid ranted.

Eos realized she had to step in, knowing that in these kind of situations, where Astrid got mad at nothing, Hiccup tended to make it worse with his harsh realism.

“Okay, I get why that’s upsetting.”, she said calmly. Astrid just nodded, thankful that Eos agreed. “But, I do have one question. Where exactly was Viggo when you got mugged?”, Eos was very careful with her words. She knew she had to ease Astrid out of her anger.

“Up the hill at the market, I told him to get some chicken feed, he was just walking to the dock and saw me get chucked in the water… or at least that’s what he said.”

“But Astrid, if what he says is true, that he only arrived when the damage was already done, were his actions of pulling you out of the water and paying for the supplies not exceptionally kind? I know Snotloud wouldn’t have done that.”, Eos tried to explain calmly.

Realization slowly started to hit Astrid, but she wasn’t quite ready to admit that she was in the wrong, not Viggo.

“Yeah, well.. maybe it was kind of nice, but that’s no excuse!”, she said, contradicting herself.

“No excuse for what? Not being able to be in two places at once? Come on, Astrid.”, Hiccup softly chimmed in, taking her hand in his as she looked away.

“Astrid, I feel like you’re just looking for a reason to get Viggo off the island. I know, he’s done his fair share of bad things, but forgivness would be a really good idea in this case. Or at least a second chance.”, Eos said. Astrid didn’t answer.  
“Astrid, today, he did everything just right and in the past few weeks he’s been really trying and hasn’t hurt any of us. And I’m pretty sure, knowing you, you probably exploded in his face. Maybe it’s time for him to stop apologizing to you for his past and you starting apologizing to him for what happened today?”, she nudged.

Astrid sighed and looked at Hiccup who was giving her a reassuring nod. She groaned.

“Fine, I’ll apologize at dinner, if it makes you two happy.” and with that she walked off to get some dry clothes.

“Thanks for mostly handling that. If I would’ve done it myself, I’d probably be down to two limps by now.”, he said jokingly.

“No problem. And between the two of us”, she whispered “I’m pretty sure it’s ‘that time of month’ right now, so you may want to be extra cautious.”, she warned with a giggle. 

“We’ll, if hat’s the case, maybe I should go check on Viggo and make sure _he_ still has all of his limps.”, Hiccup said, actually sounding slightly concearned.

Getting out of her seat quickly Eos suggested: “How about I go check on Viggo?” Hiccup looked a bit surprised that she was so eager to see the man.  
“We just haven’t been able to talk as of late. Just want to make sure he’s doing alright. He’s my friend too, you know?”, she said quickly before walking out to see if Viggo was at the stables.  
Arriving there, she saw Viggo feeding Leiptr. He seemed kind of absent-minded, maybe even a bit worried. 

“Hello Viggo!”, she greeted. Viggo jumped slightly at her voice, not expecting anyone to walk up to greet him. And in all honesty, he didn’t really feel like talking after the ordeal with Astrid earlier, but for Eos he could fake a good mood.

“Ah, Eos, my dear, how do you do?”, he greeted politly, hands clasped behind his back and smiling at her, but Eos could immediately sense that this was his ‘buisnessman who wants to sell you something’-smile. He's had enough experience to sell that one quite well.

“I’m doing pretty good, but I have a feeling you aren’t in as good of a mood as you lead on.”, she said, giving him a kind look.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”, Viggo asked.

“Because Astrid just stormed into the clubhouse, completely drenched and renting about her terrible day. And as far as I know Astrid, when she’s in this kind of mood and mad at you, your day will also be ruined, am I correct?”

Viggo gave a deep sigh and dropped the act, his expression showing just how exhausted he was. He was looking down slightly and Eos walked closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. She shifted her head slightly to try and catch his eyes, but his blind side was turned towards her.

“Do you want to talk about it?”, she asked kindly.

“Not as of now, actually. I’ve had it with explaining myself for today.”, he said, annoyance in his tone.

“Yeah, I get that. But just so we’re clear here: Astrid told Hiccup and me the full story and I think it’s safe to say we’re both on your side. You did everything just right.”, she said kindly. Viggo was still looking down and made no indication that he was about to answer, so Eos decided to give him some space to cool down. She slipped her hand of off his shoulder and gave him one last pitying smile before she started to walk off, but she stopped in her tracks when Viggo called out for her.

“Yes?”, she asked, turning around.

“While I don’t really feel like talking, I believe a walk around the island would be quite enjoyable. Care to join me?”, he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, of course.”, Eos said, a smile returning to her lips as she walked back to Viggo. He was smiling at her tiredly and offerd Eos his arm, which she took. At times she found it a bit adorable how proper Viggo was. A gentleman through and through.

The two were walking through the woods, both enjoying the silence after a long day of work. They were listening to the soft breeze, making the leafs of the mighty trees around them rustle. It was all so peaceful. All to good to be true. The stress of the ongoing war seemed distant now, the search for that damned lense so unimportant. It was just them and the beauty of nature. However, it did come with disadvantages this time of year. The sun was starting to set and it was getting cold at dragons edge. Eos was shivering just a tiny bit, but she didn’t really mind. She knew Viggo needed this time away from everything and if he wanted her to be his company, then she would be. Stepping outside of the forest, they got to a ledge were they could look over the ocean. They sat down and looked at the calm and peaceful sea. Now outside the forest, they weren’t as protected from the wind and Eos soon started to shiver even more. Upon noticing this, Viggo lay an arm around her shoulder. Eos moved a bit closer to him and layed her head down, just beneath Viggo’s spiky shoulderpad. He pulled her a bit closer and let his hand slip to her arm, slowly starting to rub it, to warm her up a bit more.

“If you would like to head back...”, he started but Eos stopped him quickly.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be alright.”, she said and hesitantly added: “Are you? Alright, I mean?”

“Certainly a lot better now. Thanks to you, my dear.”, he said and looked down at her, a soft smile on his lips.

“I’m glad.”, Eos replied almost sounding sleepy.

Viggo’s gaze turned back to the ocean in front of them. He gave a soft sigh and seemed even more relaxed than before.  
“You know, there never were a lot of people who could calm me down like you did after an argument like todays.”, Viggo said. Eos sat up a bit and turned to look at him.

“Does that make me special?”, she asked with a playful smile.

“If you don’t know how special you are by now, my dear...”, he began but stopped as his and Eos face started to inch closer and closer together, both of them slowly closing their eyes. And then their lips finally met. Eos put her hand on Viggo’s cheek and his arm, that was still on hers slipped down to her waist, pulling her closer. Eos was surprised at how gentle Viggo was being. The kiss was so soft, yet so full of passion. Viggo gently put his second hand on her cheek. They stayed like that for a few more seconds, the world completely disappearing around them. Their lips slowly parted but their hands stayed in place. Viggo’s thumb slowly started to stroke her face as he smiled at her. A genuine smile.

“About time, Grimborn. About time.”, and as Eos said that, the first snowflakes of the year started to fall from the sky.


	17. Chapter 16

On their way back to the clubhouse Eos and Viggo were walking in comfortable silence, their arms linked again. They walked up to the platform and were about to get some dinner but just before they could walk in, Eos pulled her arm back. Viggo stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

“Everything alright, my dear?”, he asked.

“Yeah, it’s all good.. it’s just… maybe we could keep this between us for now? Since it's all so new?”, she sounded a bit shy, unsure if she was okay with things moving this quickly. She had to figure stuff out before she was ready to share.

“Of course, what ever you’re comfortable with, my dear.”, and with that they walked in as if nothing had happened.

The others seemed to be having dinner as usual, Astrid and Hiccup sat closely together and the others were having ususal conersations. Upon noticing the two new people in the room, conversation died down a bit.

„Well, would you look at that, Viggo didn‘t end up killing her in the woods. Snotlout, you owe me your sword.“, Tuffnut smiled victoriously.

Eos just laughed it off and with a quick look, let Viggo know that he shouldn‘t bother as well.

„Hey, where have you two been? I was starting to get a bit worried.“, Hiccup said.

„Nothing to worry about, Hiccup. We were just out on a walk, you know, catching up.“, Eos explained, while sitting down. Viggo was about to join her, when Astrid got up and took him by his arm, dragging him away from the others so they could talk.  
Hiccup and Eos kept an close eye on them. Astrid did look a bit reluctant at first, but she seemed to actually apologize. Eos saw Viggo smiling at her and knew things would be okay between them.   
When they came back inside, Astrid sat down next to Hiccup looking like an offended baby dragon. She surly didn‘t like to admit when she was wrong. Viggo seated himself next to Eos and the four of them had a short conversation about the happenings of the day. However, the topic changed quickly.

„We have to hurry with finding that lense, Hiccup. If we fail to do that all of dragon kind will be in grave danger.“, Viggo said.

„I know, Viggo, I know. I‘m just not sure where to look anymore.“, Hiccup replied.

„I could send a message to my father and my uncle. Maybe they know what‘s on the lenses and they can tell us. If one of them fits we can go check it out.“, Eos suggested.

„Good idea.“, Hiccup said. He got up to get a Terror and some paper. „When we send the little guy right away, he should arrive back here by tomorrow night. We shouldn‘t loose anymore time.“

„Agreed.“, Eos said and took the paper from him, starting to write right away.

A bit later that night, Viggo was walking Eos back to her and Astrids shared hut, before retreating back to Hiccups hut, which the two former advesaries now shared as well due to lack of space and Snotlout refusing to let Viggo into his hut. And let‘s be honest, forcing anyone to share a hut with the twins was torture at it‘s finest.  
Arriving at their front door, Eos turned back to Viggo, who was walking a step behind her.

„Thanks for taking me on that walk. I had an amazing time tonight.“, she said happily.

„As did I.“, Viggo said, sounding almost as joyful as the girl in front of him. Viggo was about wish her a good night and offered her his hand to shake when Eos put her hands on his shoulders and leaned up to give him a quick kiss. As their lips parted she whispered:“I hope you didn‘t seriously think I‘d let you leave with just a handshake.“ Viggo chuckled lightly as he put his hands on her waist to pull her closer. He whispered into her ear:“I was hoping you wouldn‘t, my beauty.“  
Eos face started to flush a bit and she softly pushed him away. She rested a hand on his scarred cheek, softly stroking it with her thumb.

„Good night, Viggo.“, she said before heading inside.

Astrid was already inside, getting ready for bed. As Eos walked in, she noticed the flush on her friends face.

„Please don‘t tell me one of Snotlouts disgusting flirts finally worked on you.“, Astrid said with distaste.

„Ew, what makes you think that?“, Eos asked in return.

„Uhm, you‘re blushing?“, Astrid suggested.

Eos put a hand on her cheek and felt the heat radiating off of it.

„Oh, that‘s probably just the cold. It‘s still snowing, you know?“, she lied quickly.

„Yeah, right.“, Astrid teased climbing in bed. „For real now, who is making the beautiful eastern shieldmaiden blush, hm? Is it Fishlegs? Doesn‘t he still have a thing for Heather?“

Eos didn‘t answer, just got into her bed and blew out the candle next to it.

„Oh, come on, don‘t be like that! Tell me!“, she whined on.

„Astrid, sometimes no answer, is also an answer. You‘ll find out when the times right, okay? And just to be clear: The time will never be right during a war.“, Eos explained calmly but with a strong tone.

Astrid, remembering the beginning of her own relationship understood and left Eos alone.


	18. Chapter 17

A few days later, it was Astrids turn to go on patrol in the surrounding areas around the edge. Due to the events of a few days prior, Hiccup agreed that maybe he shouldn‘t team her up with Viggo anymore, so he send Eos with her. In the meantime, Viggo stayed back to work on the Dragon Eye with Hiccup. They tested multiple old lenses in case there was a sign on any of the maps for the lense they needed. They wanted to be prepared for everything.  
Around midday, the two girls arrived at the stables. Hiccup told Viggo he’d check in with them and hear their report and that he should wait in the clubhouse. Viggo just gave him a nod and continued studying the Eye.  
About ten minutes later he heard footsteps approaching.

“Son! Gobber and I need to talk to you!”, came Stoicks voice from outside.

Viggo’s blood ran cold. He knew the two Berkians wouldn’t be quite happy to see him alone in the clubhouse, not having heard that he had switched sides yet. He was considering to hide or walk out of the clubhouse quickly but it was to late. Stoick and Gobber rounded the corner, shock edvident on their faces.

“Viggo?!”, Gobber exclaimed.

“Please, I can explain..”, Viggo started but was cut off because Stoick started choking him.

“Save it for the gods, you murderous bastard.”, Stoick snapped.

Viggo was trying to struggle free and eventually succeeded when he kicked Stoick in his groin. Both men fell to the ground, Viggo violently choughing and gasping for air. He was about to try and explain himself again, when the Chief of the Berkians gave a short battle cry and jumped on him, delivering punshes in his face and stomach. Gobber was standing close by, battle axe in hand, ready to jump in, should he hurt his best friend again. Stoick was relentlessly going at it, yelling slurs at Viggo, punshing him, kicking him. He was going totally berserk.

Stoick started to choke Viggo again and spat in his face:”I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done, you disgusting animal!”

Viggo was about to give up fighting, when all of the sudden, the chiefs weight was lifted of off him. 

“Stoick please stop, you’re killing him!”, he heard a female voice yell, but he was to busy coughing and gasping for air.   
Viggo sat up slowly, still coughing, when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a second one rubbing his back. When he was able to somewhat breathe again he opened his eyes to see Eos sitting next to him. Hiccup, and to his surprise, Astrid were holding the two Berkians back, making sure they didn’t attack again.

“Are you okay?”, Eos asked worriedly.

“I’ve certainly been better.”, Viggo’s voice sounded raw.

“Glad to hear it.”, Stoick spat.

“Okay, why don’t we all sit down and… uhm.. explain...”, Hiccup said nervously.

“Son, whatever explaination you have for housing and protecting Viggo Grimborn, it better be good or you’ll be back at Berk in no time!”, Stoick boasted.

Eos helped Viggo get up and sat him down on a chair. She handed him a cup of water and started to examine him a bit. He had a bunsh of bruses and cuts that needed to be cleaned properly.

Turning to Hiccup she said:”I’ll just go and grab my medical supplies.”

“Medical supplies? For Viggo Grimborn? You’ve got to be loosing it, lassie.”, Gobber said.

Hiccup just gave Eos a nod, that signaled her that she could go. While she was gone, the others explained what had happened in the past few weeks. When she returned Stoick was standing in front of Viggo, who was still sitting down.

“So you truly were ready to give your life to safe my son?”, he asked sounding a lot calmer but there was still a hint of a threat in his voice. Eos didn’t dare to interrupt so she stayed at the door.

“Yes”, Viggo began nervously. “I had realized my mistakes and was ready to pay for them to safe Hiccup and all of dragon kind through him. And frankly, I still am.”, he explained.

Stoick shot im a long glare, as if to figure out if he was lying. The room grew tenser by the second, but then Stoick turned away from him and stood next to his son again. Eos released a breath she didn’t know, she was even holding and walked over to Viggo to take care of his wounds.  
“Wait, Stoick, you’re not actually forgiving this man, are you?”, Gobber asked.

“No, I’m not, Gobber. And if he sets one foot on Berk, ever in his life, I swear, he won’t be as lucky as he was today. But he did safe Hiccups life and to me, that counts for something.”, Stoick said. Eos was just relived that Stoick had honor. Some other Viking Chiefs wouldn’t have been this easy to calm.

“So, Dad, why are you two even here?”, Hiccup asked, trying to get the attention away from Viggo who was still being treated by Eos.

The Chief of Berk looked at the eastern girl who was tending to Viggo’s wounds. She understood that he wasn’t about to explain in front of their former advesary, so she just nodded towards the door. If they wanted to talk in private they’d have to leave.

“Let’s take a walk, son.”, he said.

Eos just got back to work and started cleaning out a cut on the unscarred side of Viggo’s face.

“You know, maybe you should be a bit more careful. There’s a lot of people who would rather see you dead right now.”, she said absent-mindedly, focused on her work.

“Pardon me, but I wasn’t exactly _expecting_ to see Stoick the Vast today.” Viggo said, sounding irritated.

Eos shot him a warning look and Viggo just turned his face to the side, his blind eye towards her. Eos giggled softly and put a hand on his jaw, forcing him to look at her again.

“You look adorable when you’re offended.”, she said and continued cleaning out the cut with a cloth. Viggo didn’t say anything but Eos believed to see a small blush on his face. Finally satisfied with her work, she put the cloth down and looked into Viggo’s eyes. He leaned in to her hand, that was still resting on his face, as the girl started to stroke it with her thumb, trying to calm him down a bit.

“Don’t worry about Stoick or any other Berkians. One day, they’ll find the strengh to leave the past behind and then things will get easier.”

Viggo broke their eye contact to look down, but Eos didn’t allow him to think negetive again.

“Hey..”, she whispered. “Things will be fine. And until then, I’ll be right here, by your side.”

Viggo just smiled at her and put his arms, that were resting on his knees, around Eos' waist to pull her close. He gave her a loving and passionate kiss, her hands resting in the back of his neck. But the kiss broke quickly, when they heard people approching the clubhouse.

Hiccup walked in and looked worriedly at Eos.

“Hiccup? What’s going on?”

“We have to get to Glacier Island. Right now.”, he said.


	19. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry that it took me so long to update. I went on vacation and didn't take my laptop, since I had somewhat of a writers blog and I needed a break. To make up for the long waiting, I'll post a few more chapters today than usual.

“So, um, Hiccup, not that I don’t love the freezing cold and aggressive Snow Wraiths, but, uh, why are flying to Glacier Island?”, Snotlout asked from the back of Hookfang.

“Dad said that an old friend of his send him a terror mail. Apparently he was on Glacier Island once and found something that could resemble a Dragon Eye lens.”, Hiccup explained, whilst maneuvering Toothless closer to Hookfang, so his cousin could hear him better.

“What about the terror mail Eos sent to her family? Any word on that?”, Astrid asked.

“They said they didn’t know what is on the lenses. They don’t really have a Dragon Eye lying around to see, you know?”, Eos replied.

“But wouldn’t it still be better if we had those lenses with us? So we can make sure Johann and Krogan don’t get them?”, Fishlegs chimed in.

“Those lenses are safer with the Protectors then they are with us, they have a full army of dragons and riders, not to mention their fleet and their ground defenses. But there is a lone lens on Glacier Island, that is the one we have to keep safe.”, Hiccup explained.

The others nodded in approval and pushed their dragons to go even faster. They had to get there before the Flyers did.

Viggo and Leiptr were flying at the very end of the formation. Eos couldn’t help but throw worried glances to them once every few minutes. They had left the edge right after Viggo had gotten beaten up by Stoick. He looked like he was in constant pain and seemed to be totally exhausted. Eventually, Eos couldn’t take it any longer and slowed Eurus down, so she was flying next to Viggo.

“Are you okay?”, she asked.

“Better than when I first arrived at dragons edge.”, Viggo said, trying to avoid worrying her.

“That wasn’t my question, Viggo.”, she said.

“I’ll be just fine, my dear. You do not have to worry about me at all. I’ve been through much worse.”, he said calmly. Eos was about to say something when Hiccup yelled:"Alright gang, we’re here. Let’s land and split up, to make sure we cover every single cave. I need everyone on high alert. We don’t know if the Hunters are there already."

As they finally arrived at the freezing island in the middle of nowhere, Hiccup quickly divided the Dragon Riders into teams. Astrid was going with Snotlout, Fishlegs was going with the twins and him with Viggo and Eos. He wanted to make sure that after what happened today, Viggo stayed close to their healer, and he also felt like he needed to talk things out with the former hunter, at least a little. He needed to apologize for his father.  
Each group got assigned two caves to search, before they re-met, to get a status update.  
When the trio of Hiccup, Viggo and Eos searched their first cave, there wasn’t much conversation. Hiccup was thinking of how to talk to Viggo about his dad and the future he might have with the Riders without making things totally and utterly awkward. In the meantime, Viggo was taking the time to explain Maces and Talons to Eos. Snotlout wouldn’t be happy to hear that.  
When their first cave was no success, they moved on to their second. Hiccup, now finally feeling like he kind of found the right words, tried to start a conversation with Viggo.

“So, um, Viggo, how do you feel after what happened today?”

“Like I explained to our dear Eos earlier, I’ve been through much worse. I will be alright.”, he replied calmly.

“Okay, that’s good-”, Hiccup continued awkwardly. “But, uh, I really do apologize for what my dad did. I should’ve just talked to him when you first turned up at the edge. I’m sorry that I let it go so far.”, Hiccup sounded guilty.

“Hiccup, there is nothing that you should be apologizing for. I’ve done horrible things in the past, your father simply didn’t know of my change yet. He had every reason to do what he did and I assure you that I’m not having any hatred or anger towards him. At the very least, there might be a bit of frustration or annoyance about the happenings of today.”, Viggo explained calmly. Eos was giving him a small smile. At least he’d gotten over it a tiny bit.

Hiccup was about to ask him why he was frustrated, when the ground started shaking. There were rocks falling from the ceiling, closing of the entrance of the cave. Underneath them, the ice started to crack. Viggo quickly took Eos hand and ran deeper into the cave, trying to get away from the cracks. Eos grabbed Hiccup‘s wrist and together they tried to flee but it was no use. The ground started to disappear underneath their feet, and they fell into a deep hole, landing hard on the stone floor. When the last rocks and boulders had fallen, silence filled the cave. Hiccup groaned as he sat up, the other two slowly following.

“Everyone okay?" The leader asked.

Eos was about to answer but when she took a look at Hiccup her eyes widened. “Hiccup, you’re bleeding. Don’t move, yeah?”, Eos said as she shakily got up to check out the wound on Hiccups forehead. “It doesn’t look that bad, but you might get a pretty bad headache later today.”, she said, as she got her bandages out of her satchel. 

While she was working on Hiccup’s wound she looked over at Viggo shortly, who looked a bit disoriented. 

“Viggo? You okay there?”, she asked.

“Yes.. yes, my dear, just fine. I suppose I’m just a bit... shocked.”, he replied.

“Oh, okay. Well, then could you maybe come over here and bandage Hiccup up for me? I think I might’ve sprained my wrist.”, she said.

At that, Viggo snapped right back to reality, and he immediately walked over to her.

“What? Why didn’t you say anything? Are you alright, my dear?”, he asked worriedly.  
“Yeah Viggo, I’m good. There’s not much I can do about it down here anyway, other than have one of you bandage it. But we can’t afford that right now, since I only have limited supply with me and Hiccup needs it more right now.”, she explained calmly. She wasn’t about to show it in front of Hiccup, but Viggo’s worry really warmed her heart.

After the boy was bandaged up, they decided to assess the situation a bit better. It didn’t take them long to realize that the walls were to steep to climb out and even if they weren’t, Eos couldn’t climb out with her wrist injury. 

“Maybe it’s better if we just wait. If we don’t show up, the others are going to search our caves to see if they can find us.”, Hiccup said.

“But Hiccup, all the equipment to get us out of this hole safely is still at the edge. Look, there is a path over there. Maybe we should try to find our own way out of here.” Eos argued, pointing at a fairly narrow passage way, that seemed to go up.

“You might be right..” Hiccup replied, slowly getting up. “But, we should leave something here for the others. So if they find this place, they know we were here and where we’re headed.”

Hiccup started collecting small rocks and laid them out on the ground, forming an arrow that pointed in the direction they intended to go.

“Hiccup, do you happen to know if there are any wells here?”, Viggo asked as the trio started walking.

“On the island for sure. But down here? I’ve got no clue.”, the younger boy replied.

“Well, that might turn into an issue soon. We only have one flask of water with us.”

Hiccup let out a deep sigh, his worry evident to Eos. She walked over to him and lay an arm around his shoulders.

“Hey, don’t stress it. We’ll figure this entire thing out. We always do.”, she said encouragingly.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”, Hiccup said smiling.


	20. Chapter 19

As the trio continued walking down the pathway in the cave it steadily got steeper and steeper. At first, they were still having conversation, Viggo and Eos carried on their talk about Maces and Talons, but soon the path got to steep, and they started to get out of breath. Now that everything was silent, only the repetitive deep breath sounds of the Riders and the metallic sound Hiccups leg made with every step audible, Hiccup finally got to clearing his mind. Eos and Viggo seemed awfully close. He wasn’t sure if he had missed something, remembering his own girlfriend telling him, or rather Heather, that he does that sometimes, but he just wasn’t sure what had changed or when it had. It wasn’t like he wasn’t happy that Viggo finally found a friend and it was to be expected that the girl was kind to him, she was kind to everyone. But this was a different sort of kindness. She treated Viggo almost like she treated himself, but there was still something.. off. Maybe he was just overreacting and they were just friends. And even if there was something different between them, why should he care? It’s their life, no matter what was going on between the two, it was their business. And yet, he couldn’t help but worry about his best friend. His sister.  
A strong wind started to pick up from somewhere in front of them, making the three almost jump in surprise. As they continue on, the path slowly started to even out and the darkness slowly started to fade into a pale light. And then, they saw an exit to the cave. Happy that they had escaped their freezing prison they ran outside, only to land in an even worse situation. They were still surrounded by icy walls, but looking up there was a clouded sky over their heads instead of a stone roof. They had landed in a canyon.

“Oh, for Thor’s sake!” Hiccup cursed.

“It’s like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire!” Viggo agreed.

Eos sighed and looked around. There was no climbing these walls. They were completely covered in ice. Fortunately though, Eos noticed a few dead trees and dry sticks. She figured that, in summer, the plants must be protected by the walls of the canyon and there was nothing blocking the sunlight. On the negative side, it was winter now and when they looked at the sky, it was evident, that there would be a storm soon. 

“Look, guys-”, Eos began. “Yes, this looks bad, but at least we’re a little shielded from the wind. And if you look around, there are dead trees and sticks down here. The sun’s about to go down, maybe we should start a fire and settle down for tonight.”

“Maybe you’re right. Walking on doesn’t do any good when we’re cold, hungry and tired.”, Hiccup agreed. 

They started to collect wood and looked for a place that was a bit more shielded. Viggo soon found a place, that seemed a bit more shielded. Soon, night started to fall and the temperatures started to sink below zero. The trio shivered heavily, the cold even worse now that they were in the canyon. The fire was only providing little warmth compared to the freezing world around them. Viggo, honestly no longer caring whether Hiccup found out about their relationship, moved closer to Eos and laid an arm around her shoulder to warm her up. She however, blushed slightly and removed his arm quickly.

“Thanks, Viggo, I’ll be fine though.”, she said. Hiccup got up from across of them and sat in between them to pulled Eos into a hug.  
“Nothing wrong with warming you up a little.”, he said, his back turned to Viggo, not realizing that the man was giving him a death stare. Eos, however, noticed and pulled out of the hug. 

“Neither of you have to worry, there’s a fire to warm me up, I’ll be fine, okay? We have different things to worry about, like water and food. How about we take care of that first and your male protective instinct later?”

Viggo and Hiccup both gave her an apologetic look. At this point, Eos was kind of done with everything, so instead of talking about the tension between the two men, like she usually would, she laid down to sleep.


	21. Chapter 20

When the Riders woke up the next day, they were all completely chilled to the bone. The fire had gone out at some point in the night and had left them vulnerable for the cold temperatures from the glacier.  
Deciding that it was about time they got out of there, they packed their stuff and got back to finding food, water and maybe even a way out of there. This time around though, Hiccup seemed way chattier. He was talking to Eos about his plans for after the war. Where he wanted to go, what he wanted to do. At first Viggo was fine with it, but then he started to grow a little worried.

“.. and you and Eurus could come with me! We could discover the great beyond together and safe tons of dragons while we’re at it! Just us and the dragons, like it was always meant to be!”, Hiccup declared loudly. Eos was smiling widely and nodded in agreement.

“ Totally! We have to use the time before we have to act in our respective roles. A life as general would be even harder, knowing that I didn’t even try to be out there to discover.”, she replied.

“Does that mean you don’t want to-”, Viggo started, but was cut off by Hiccup. The two didn’t even seem to notice that he had spoken up.

“Actually, I was thinking, we could run away. You know, to dedicate our life to dragons. Our future isn’t set in stone just because our parents say so, don’t you think?”, Hiccup said that so nonchalantly, it shocked Eos.

“Hiccup, it sounds like a dream, b-”, Eos was cut off when Viggo suddenly stepped in front of them and whispered “Quiet!”.

“What? Viggo, what is going on?” Hiccup whispered back.

“Listen.” he replied curtly.

The three stood completely still, Viggo standing in front of them, a protective arm stretched out in front of Eos. Then they heard it. Soft footsteps approaching. It was hard to tell if they came from a human or an animal, but they were growing closer and closer.

“Do you think Krogan and Johann got here first?” Eos whispered to Hiccup. He just gave her an unknowing look, not being sure himself.

The footsteps got even closer. Viggo now had his hand on his sword. The other two were imitating his motion and also laid their hands on their weapons. They slowly started to take a few steps backwards, getting a bit of ground between them and whatever was approaching them. Eos, knowing Hiccup wasn’t paying attention to them, slipped her good hand from the handle of her sword and into Viggo’s free hand. His hand wrapped around hers and his thumb started to softly stroke it. The tension in the air was so thick, it could have been cut with a knife.  
Whatever it was, was now rounding the corner and in that very second Eos let go of Viggo’s hand. She started to laugh softly and Hiccup soon joined her. Viggo just shook his head in embarrassment of his own stupidity. There, in front of them, stood a yak. He’d tried to protect them _from a yak_.  
Eos, knowing her boyfriend, noticed his obvious shame and motioned for Hiccup to stop laughing.

“Well, we were looking for food as well, weren’t we?”, Hiccup said.

A few hours later, when it was time for lunch, the three were cooking some of the yaks' meat over a campfire. They had rationed everything out between them and each of them had enough food to last them a few days.  
This time, Eos was sitting next to Viggo. The two of them were talking about Eos’ island. Viggo seemed to be asking a thousand questions about her house, her family, her people and Eos answered every single one with a very detailed reply. This got Hiccup thinking again. Eos wouldn’t just share this with anyone, especially a former Dragon Hunter who was known to be deceptive. And then he noticed Viggo’s hand on Eos’ leg and something inside him clicked. He had finally solved the puzzle of Eos and Viggo. Hiccup shot his best friend and all to knowing look which she first didn’t notice, but when she finally did turn to him she seemed rather confused.

“What?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing, nothing at all. You and I just need to talk.” and with that he grabbed Eos and pulled her to the side. They stood a bit further away from the camp, Viggo shooting Hiccup an angry look for taking his girlfriend away mid conversation. She just motioned for him to stay calm, so, with a bit of disagreement he continued his meal.

“Eos say, did Viggo ever.. get to close?” he whispered.

“… I’m sorry, _what_?” Eos asked completely astonished.

“You know you don’t have to allow him to do whatever, just because your family wants you to marry early. And I know the boys on your island aren’t exactly gentlemen, but they must be better than Viggo, right?”, Hiccup said carefully.

“Woah, okay, let me take a look at that wound again, I think there might be an infection that spread to your brain. What _in the name of God_ are you talking about?” Eos questioned, getting a bit angry.

“The fact that you are getting defensive just proves my point. Stop lying.” he demanded.

“Hiccup, I swear, there is nothing you should worry about. Everything is fine.”, Eos tried to calm him but Hiccup wouldn’t have any of it.

“You’re just saying that to protect him! Eos, he’s manipulating you into thinking what he’s doing is okay!”, he yelled now. Viggo surly heard that.

“I’m saying that because it’s the truth, Hiccup. Viggo’s not doing anything that I _don’t_ agree with.”, she said, ending the conversation and walking back to the camp. She sat back down next to Viggo who silently handed her a full plate of meat. She gratefully took it with her good hand and started eating.


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight feels warning: A protective boyfriend and a protective best friend, who are both more than confused with the situation. If there were tables in a cave, they would have all been flipped. And then broken over the other persons head.

They got going again after their lunch break. The walk was silent this time. No one was talking about anything this time around. They were walking in single file, everybody trapped in their own world. Viggo, who was walking at the very end, kept on looking at Eos. He knew he was staring, and he also knew that Eos knew he was. But he just couldn’t help it, he was worried about her. Not only had her wrist started to swell, the fight with Hiccup had seemed to upset her a lot. It seemed logical, after all, the two were very close. And Viggo couldn’t stand the fact that they were. They got along far to well for his liking. Hiccup was always hugging her, she was always giving him pep talks, they were dreaming about the future they’d have together. Viggo hated it. He knew it wasn’t his place to say something yet, Eos and him had only been courting for a bit over two weeks, but he just didn’t like how Hiccup treated her all the time. He didn’t know any history of how the two got to know each other, which for him, made it even wore. How does a Protector meet a Berkian and how are they this close? After all, Hiccup does have a girlfriend of his own. Why did he need Eos then? Why couldn’t she only be his?

“Guys-”, Eos suddenly spoke. “I’m not sure but… I think I hear water!” Everyone quieted down to listen to anything that sounded like water. And indeed, there was something.

“Over there! See the crack in the wall? The sounds are coming from there!”, Hiccup said, quickly running over.

As they slipped through the crack in the wall, they saw a big cave around them. It had a tiny hole in the roof to let sunlight in. There seemed to be a path that lead deeper into the cave. Fairly close to the entrance was a little waterfall, that landed in a small stream. Upon noticing the well, the trio ran towards it. Viggo pulled out his long empty flask and filled it up all the way. He then handed it to Eos, who gratefully took it and finished it in no time. Viggo filled it up again, but instead of handing it to Hiccup, like the other two expected, he finished it himself, then handed Hiccup the empty flask, to fill it up himself. Viggo was officially pissed off.  
Since it was nearing nightfall again, the Riders decided to camp inside the cave. Shielded from the storm outside and supplied with food and water, things finally started to look up. However, emotionally everyone seemed completely done. Their dinner was silent for the most part until Hiccup decided to speak up.

“Maybe it’s best we stay here until the other Riders find us. We have food and water here and it seems to be quite safe. Who knows what kind of trouble lurks out there.” Hiccup said.

“Yeah, you‘re probably right.“ Eos heard Viggo scoff under his breath. „What is it?“ she asked.

„You always seem to agree.“ Viggos tone almost poisonous.

„You have a problem with us getting along?“ Hiccup was already getting annoyed

„All I am saying is, that you do not need to get this close.“ Viggo tried to sound nonchalant but failed miserably. He was more than angry.

„ _I_ am not getting to close to Eos. Besides, I‘m not doing anything Eos doesn't‘t want.“ Hiccup retorted.

„But as far as I recall, you are betrothed to young Miss Hofferson. Why get involved with Eos?“ Viggo answered.

Hiccup's eyes went wide at that. If there was one around, he'd flip a table. „I‘m not _involved_ with anyone but Astrid, okay? And that is not what I meant when I said that it wasn't me who is getting too close. Besides, even if there was a thing between Eos and I, which there isn’t, why do _you_ care?“ 

„Why do _you_ bother asking? Oh, no wait, don't answer that. Your anger and _misinterpretation_ speak volumes.“ Viggo said this so coldly, seriously believing that Hiccup had feelings for _his_ girlfriend and considering if she had feelings for him too.

„So I‘m protective of someone I care about! At least I‘m able to actually give a _damn_ about people!“, Hiccup was now yelling at him, but with that last sentence Viggo burning anger seemed to run freezing cold. His eyes didn’t hold the boiling anger anymore, they held cold hatred. Eos hadn’t seen him like that since he switched sides.

„Don‘t you even _dare_ accuse me of not caring. _Especially_ when it comes to Eos.“ Viggos voice was merely more than a whisper, but boy, was it scary. Viggo was able to freak people out, to intimidate them. The other two Riders had seen it before, had been afraid of him before. But this couldn't be compared to anything they'd ever seen. It sent shivers down Eos' spine and Hiccup slowed down for a second, his hand wavering above the handle of his sword, ready to unsheathe it, would Viggo only move an inch closer to him or Eos.

„Why? Why Eos? Don‘t tell me that you of all people actually believe to have a chance with _a girl like her!_ “ Hiccup tried to imitate the tone in which Viggo had spoken, but he was to upset to make his high voice drop so deep and sound so cool and smooth. The hate in Viggo‘s eyes subsided for a second and instead Eos could see pain and fear in them. But that sign of weakness disappeared after a second, and he was back to pure rage. But Eos had had enough.

She stood in between them and yelled: _“Okay, stop it!”_ The two boys turned to look at her. “Hiccup, what is going on with you? You aren’t usually like this! There is no reason to attack Viggo like that because him and I actually _are_ courting. And if you actually knew me, you would know that ‘someone like Viggo’ has exceptionally good chances with ‘a girl like me’! And Viggo, did you seriously think I’d lie to you? Come on. Hiccup and I are best friends, you know that. There is nothing going on! Don’t you trust me?” It wasn’t often that you saw Eos like this. She was so infuriated and yet helpless enough to feel forced to admit their relationship. Viggo was about to speak up and apologize, knowing that she didn’t want the other Riders to know yet, but Hiccup beat him to it. 

“Wait, _what_? You and Viggo? When did that happen?”, he asked surprised.

“About two weeks ago. Happened after the big Astrid-Fiasco. Pretty sure we started to fall for each other when we were caught by Krogan.” Eos explained.

“I fell for you the minute I first laid eyes on you.” Viggo corrected her. She immediately blushed, but didn’t bother even looking at him. She was still hurt that he didn’t trust her.

“What in the name of Thor are you two talking about? Eos, he used to be our enemy! You can’t be courting him!” Hiccup was still trying to wrap his head around all of this.

“Yes, actually I can. And who cares if he used to be our enemy. He changed. You told me that he changed and that I can trust him!” Eos argued.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t expect you’d start going out with him!”

“Are you sure this isn’t you being overprotective? You don’t have a problem with Viggo, you have a problem that I’m seeing him. Or anyone, for that matter.” Eos said. And actually Hiccup started to see what she meant. He just didn’t want her to get hurt like before, but he didn’t think badly of Viggo anymore. He had already proven his change and his loyalty

“No, you’re… you’re right. I’m sorry, guys.” Hiccup said reluctantly. Viggo gave him a short nod of acknowledgment. 

“It’s alright now. Let’s all settle down a little, shall we?” he proposed. They sat down and started building their camp. “May I also ask you a question, my dear? How and when did you first meet Hiccup?”, he asked carefully, curiosity getting the better of him.

Eos gave a sigh and reluctantly replied: "Remember when I told you about the night my mother was killed? Well, that resulted in a war that lasted about a year. It was settled by your grandfather, who made a peace offering. But during the time of the war my brother and I were sent to our allies, the Berkians. We were both too young for a war and our father was very worried for the family after my mothers death. We lived with Stoick and Hiccup while we were there. Hákon and I got along fine with everyone, but I always noticed that the others were bullying Hiccup, so I started to hang out with him most of the time.”

“She was there for me when the whole world seemed to be against me. Even my own father.” Hiccup finished the story for her.

“Yes, she has that quality.” Viggo replied with a soft smile. Eos rolled her eyes at him. He knew very well that she had every the right to be mad at him.

“I am sorry, my dear. I shouldn’t have let my mind take my feelings to an unreasonable amount of-” Viggo was cut off.

“Stupid jealousy? Yeah, you’re right, you shouldn’t have. I thought you trusted me.”

“My dear Eos, I do trust you, please believe me. But these past few days you and Hiccup seemed inseparable. You even said it would be a dream to leave everything behind and go explore the world, just with him.”, Viggo said, trying to somehow justify his emotions.

“Oh, that?”, Eos said, now sounding kinder. “I didn’t get to finish. It does sound like a dream, yes, but I have other responsibilities and plans for my life. I won’t spend all my life out there, but the time that I do, I’d love to share with you, Viggo.”, she said. “Oh, and the next time you get jealous-” she began. Hiccup realized that these words weren’t meant for him to hear, so he turned his head to the side. “Just remind yourself, that I know there is no one out there like you. And that I wouldn’t exchange what we have for anything this world has to offer.”

And that was the first time Hiccup saw Eos and Viggo kiss.


	23. Chapter 22

That evening, things finally felt peaceful. After they had dinner, they stored the rest of the meat in their bags. They had a nice chat afterwards, talking about their own past, telling each other childhood stories no one else knew about. A few hours in, Eos fell asleep in Viggo’s arms, the picture actually looking fairly natural to Hiccup. The two men had a short conversation, but they also fell asleep not much later. But what they didn’t know was that the cave wasn’t as safe as one might think.  
In the middle of the night Eos was awakened by a loud scream and then a sharp pain in her leg. She opened her eyes to see deep scratches on her leg and a pack of hungry wolves in their camp. Three of them were standing right in front of her and Viggo. He was slowly waking up as well, but when he noticed what was happening, he pulled Eos closer to him and slowly got up. He reached for his sword and unsheathed it. But before he could attack, the same scream from earlier filled the cave. That's when they saw that Hiccup was on the floor, two wolves on top of him. 

“Go help him, I will take care of these.” Viggo said. 

Unsheathing one of her swords with her good hand, Eos started to attack the two wolves that were on top of her best friend. She managed to get them away from him, but one of them got close enough to scratch her cheek and the other managed to bite her wounded hand. Pain shot through her entire arm, and she fell to the ground with a short yell of pain, dropping her sword in the process. Now, defenseless, she was being cornered by the wolves. Frantic, she looked over at Hiccup, who was just getting up. He still looked confused and overwhelmed, being suddenly attacked during his sleep. He wouldn’t be able to help her. She looked over at Viggo, who was still fighting with two wolves himself, one was unconscious, or maybe even dead on the floor. Viggo himself, was now in a similar situation as Hiccup earlier. He was on the ground, two wolves on top of him, scratching and biting him, but at least he had his sword to defend himself with. However, the wolves were so aggressive, Eos wasn’t sure how long he could keep fighting. A deep growl from in front of her brought her back to reality. She wasn’t safe yet. Just as one wolf was about to jump her, Hiccup stepped in between them, inferno in hand and ignited. The wolves, of course, were scared of the fire and started inching away, while Hiccup was now approaching them, eventually chasing them of. The wolves that were fighting Viggo noticed and got of off him when Hiccup approached them as well. As soon as he was freed Viggo got up.

“Thank you.” He said, igniting his own sword.

“No problem. Let’s finish this.” The younger man replied.

They swung their swords in front of the wolves, making them run away with their tails between their legs. After they were gone, Eos saw a few deep scratches on the side of Viggo's torso. Blood was flowing down, and the man couldn’t even stand straight. However, Viggo immediately stumbled to Eos.

“Are you alright? Did they hurt you?” He asked worriedly.

“I’m good, it’s just a few scratches. Look at you, they ripped your side open completely!” Eos exclaimed.

“Do not worry about me. Look at your leg!” He tried, but Eos wasn’t having it.

“Viggo, stop. I’ll be fine, trust me. Hiccup, take off the bandage we put on your head and wash it off, the wound should be dry by now. Viggo, you go clean out those scratches. If you have any wounds, Hiccup, I want you to clean out those as well.”

Soon they were all standing around the well, cleaning out all of their wounds. Viggo’s side got bandaged up by Hiccup, who luckily only had minor wounds. Eos was watching Hiccup's every move, to make sure he didn’t make Viggo's wound worse. She felt terrible that there wasn’t much she could do. She was the healer, she should be healing.  
When everything had calmed down a bit, Eos was sitting next to Viggo, carefully inspecting if he had any other wounds. The man himself was more worried about his girlfriend though.

“Look at that! This wolf had the audacity to scratch your face like that!” He said, carefully stroking her cheek.

“Viggo, it’s not that bad. Your wound is way worse. We need to do something quickly. The wound’s vulnerable for infection and-” 

“Woah, slow down Eos.” Hiccup cut her off. “We don’t have any resources, I know that sucks, but we have to get moving. A wolf pack usually isn’t that small. Who knows, they might be getting back-up.”

“I don’t get why they even attacked in the first place.” Eos said.

“We came into their territory and hunted their prey. Look, we have to get moving, now, or we’ll be in even bigger trouble.”

“I don’t want him moving around too much with that wound Hiccup. It may not look like much right now, but who knows how long we’ll be down here. He needs his strength.”

“My dear, I appreciate your concerns but please, do trust that I’ll be fine.” Viggo cut in, taking Eos hand. Hiccup cringed slightly. It wasn't like he didn't support their relationship, it was just all still so new and awkward for him. He may never get used to this.

“Yeah, well, it’s not just today I’m worried about. You literally got beat up by Stoick a few days ago. This guy can really do some damage if he wants. Your voice is still slightly hoarse.” Eos said worriedly. They shared a long look, before Viggo looked down and chuckled slightly. He then whispered something into her ear and Hiccup could just feel what was about to happen next. So before they could kiss, he quickly made a suggestion.

“How about I look for an exit to the canyon? Deeper in the cave? These wolves must have come from somewhere. And when I find something I’ll come get you.” He said.

“Yeah, that might be best. Just… be safe, okay? Astrid will have my head if something happens to you.” Eos said. Hiccup assured her, that he’d be fine before he left the two alone to finally have that kiss. This time, Viggo wasn’t so gentle though. He pulled her onto his lap by her waist and then allowed his hands to slip to her bottom.  
Slightly shocked by this, Eos pulled away slightly. Noticing her discomfort, Viggo immediately removed his hands and let her get off of him.

“Apologies, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no, it’s fine. I… I just..” Eos hesitated.

“Please know that you can speak to me about anything, my beauty. I will respect whatever you say.” Viggo said calmly, but his eyes revealed worry.

“Well, you’re not exactly my first relationship. The guys in my village have… a different picture when it comes to relationships. Everything always happens so quickly, and they tend to focus more on my body than my feelings. I was just hoping that it would be different this time. I was hoping someone would focus on the romantic side of it all.” She said quietly. She was scared that her words might have destroyed their relationship before it even started because she didn’t know how he viewed relationships, but she had to say it. Eos was sick of the same old story. And of the same old ending.

“You want it to be different? Then it will be. Eos, the reason I first want to be with you never was a physical one. I have never met a person with a heart quite as kind as yours.” He said lovingly.

“The reason you _first_ wanted to be with me?” Eos repeated shyly.

“Yes. I do have to admit that it is hard to miss your ravishing beauty. You almost remind me of a rose starting to bloom at dawn.” He said, his voice full of admiration.

“Okay, now you're pushing it a little.” Eos said with a slight giggle. “But it was really sweet.” She said, before she leaned forward and gave him a loving kiss.

He whispered to her:” We’ll take it slow. And when all of this is over, I’ll take you on a rendezvous you’ll never forget.”

“I never knew you were such a romantic.” She whispered back. She put a hand on his side, forgetting his injury for a second. Viggo let out a hiss of pain and Eos flinched back.

“I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” She asked, the romantic atmosphere breaking.

“Yes, I am. Not to worry.” Viggo said, pain slowly leaving his voice. Eos suddenly felt so useless. When someone got hurt at the edge, she could always help. She always had a big bag of supplies with her when she went out. How could she be so idiotic and not take her normal amount this time. Viggo was in pain, and she just couldn’t do anything.

“Maybe I should do something too, I can’t just sit around here. We still don't have way ou-” Eos was cut off. 

“Hiccup is searching for a way out right now. Perhaps he even meets the other Riders. I will be alright, my flower.” He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Just then the ground started to shake and boulders started to fall from the roof, blocking the caves entrance. The well started to suddenly spurt water way more quickly. Hiccup came running from the path he had taken to follow the wolves and managed to jump back into the main cave before the entrance to the path was also closed.

“Okay so, we may or may not have a problem.”


	24. Chapter 23

The cave was filling up with water rapidly. Now that the entrances were closed the water couldn’t escape. Viggo and Eos had to get up, the water had already risen to their knees.

“Hiccup, what on earth happened?” Eos asked.

“See, when I got to the end of the cave, there was no exit, but there was a small pedestal, where, I’m sure, a Dragon Eye lens once sat. But it’s gone and I found some Singetail scales on the floor, so Krogan got here first. And on my way out I may or may not have activated a booby trap.”

“Which is probably why this cave is falling apart.” Viggo finished Hiccups sentence.

“Don’t worry about being hit by a boulder Viggo, with the water rising as quickly as it is, we’ll drown before that.” Eos said. “Look’s like we might need to swim. Maybe we can make it to the hole in the ceiling.”

“Let’s hope so.” Viggo said, as the water got to his chest. Eos, who was not as tall as he was, already needed to swim to keep her head over the water, but only moments later the guys had to join her.   
Eos had pulled her injured arm to her chest, she had to make sure not to use it or else she’d worsen the damage of the fall and the recent bite. But swimming with just one arm soon got tiring, to the point where she couldn’t do it anymore and had to use her injured arm. As soon as she did though, she felt pain piercing through it. The freezing cold of the water didn’t help. Her legs were already getting stiff. Panic started to rise in her. She looked up at the ceiling and it still seemed to far away. She wasn’t sure if she would make it.

“Viggo? I don’t think I can do this. It hurts so much.” Eos said, for the first time admitting to her own pain.

“Just hold on a little longer. I’m right here if you need me." Viggo said, trying to calm her.

She stared to swim closer to Hiccup and Viggo, just in case, but when Eos was half-way there, her legs started to give out. Her body was way smaller than Viggo's, so it couldn’t withstand the cold as well. Hiccup was also already struggling a bit, but Eos was now fighting to stay above the water. Her arm hurt so bad as she was slowly sinking under the surface. She kept fighting to get back up, but her body gave in. Her eyes fluttered shut and a silent darkness swallowed her.  
But then she felt something grab her waist. With her last strength she forced her eyes back open to see Viggo fighting to get them both to the surface. He was also already struggling with the cold and getting them both to safety became more and more unlikely. Viggo’s lungs were burning and his grip on Eos was slipping. Above him he now saw Hiccup slowly giving in too. He couldn’t safe them all. Heck, he wasn’t even sure if he was still able to safe himself. As he sunk deeper into the water, the light from outside began to fade just like his hope of surviving all off this.

And then the unthinkable happened. He saw a rope in front of him. Someone had come to safe them. He tightened his grip on Eos one last time and took the rope in his other hand. He looked up, to see that Hiccup was also weakly holding on. They were pulled up quickly, at this point Viggo had realized that it must be the Dragon Riders. Although not out of the waters yet, Viggo allowed himself to relax a bit. They might just make it. When they reached the surface, Hiccup was pulled out of the waters by his father, who then reached down again to take Eos out of Viggo's trembling hands. Viggo thought he had to struggle out of the hole himself, since the chief still wasn't all that fond of him but to everyone's great surprise Stoick bent down and offered Viggo his arm to help him out.

When he was finally outside of the freezing waters of the glacier Viggo fell to the ground weakly, his body to cold and numb to move and yet his muscles were burning with exhaustion. The Dragon Riders were rushing around, trying to find the warming blankets and medical supplies. Viggo usually despised being pitied but this time he couldn’t care less. He didn’t even seem to notice the surrounding people. He didn’t care that they were talking to him, trying to get his attention, trying to get through to him. Viggo was trapped in his mind, in his own world. And that world revolved around Eos. She was laying beside him, still unconscious, but her body was rattling with shivers, her teeth shattering. Absent-minded he put a hand on her shoulder, his thumb slowly stroking her. Her eyes fluttered open for a second, but then Viggo saw them rolling back in her head. That’s when the ringing in his ears finally subsided, and he heard Fishlegs calling him.

“Viggo? Viggo! Do you hear me? Are you okay? Are you injured?” The young man had been repeating the questions for almost two minutes now. He jumped back startled, when Viggo suddenly sat up and focused his eyes on him.

“Why are you just standing there? Warm her up, get her a blanket! Do something!”

Shocked, Fishlegs sprinted away to his saddle back and retrieved a blanket for Eos, throwing it over her shaking form. Viggo didn't bother to even look at Fishlegs, much less thank him for his help. He just picked Eos up gently and lifted her into his lap, hugging her close. He didn’t care if the others saw. He needed her to live. 

With a shudder and a deep breath Eos eyes opened. She looked into his eyes, her green orbs matte with exhaustion.

“Viggo...” She whispered to him. “You’re shaking.” 

A soft huff that resembled something of a chuckle escaped Viggo. “Shh, just rest, my flower. We’ll be fine now.”

Eos wrapped her arms around Viggo's torso, pulling herself closer to him, head resting on his chest. Viggo wanted to squeeze her, overjoyed that they had both made it out of there alive, but he was too afraid of hurting her. She had never been a weak person, but she seemed to fragile right now.  
Viggo turned his attention to Hiccup for a mere second, checking on the younger man. He was surrounded by his father and his betrothed, shivering as well. The snow storm was still going on and the winds were only getting stronger and stronger. Viggo finally noticed how cold he actually was. His hands stung with pain and his mind was still foggy because of the numbness in his entire body. When Viggo thought he would pass out and find himself back on Dragon’s Edge hours later, Eos said something to keep him conscious.

“Thank you.” She whispered in his ear. Her tone was soft and weak, barely above a whisper. Only he could hear the love and passion these two simple words held.

“Anything for you, my flower.” came his hushed reply. In return, Eos pecked him on his cheek, but without the others noticing. When the hug broke, they again got even more aware of the temperatures on the glacier. Viggo tried to stay close and protect Eos at least a little from the harsh winds. Luckily, Fishlegs quickly approached them, a second blanket in his hands and Eurus and Leiptr behind him. Viggo gratefully took the warm fur blanket. Their dragons snuggled up with them, giving them some much-needed warmth.

“Eos!” Astrid yelled from Hiccups side. “Thank the gods that you guys are okay. I was really worried about you.” The blonde shield maiden smiled at the two, a seemingly far to knowing twinkle in her eyes.

“Thanks for coming for us. But how’d you find us?” Eos asked in reply.

“We went back to Berk to get some equipment when we figured out what happened. We told Stoick, and he and Gobber came along with Skullcrusher and Grump. It was a good idea of them to come, Skullcrusher found you guys in no time.” Astrid explained to them.

“Thank you.” Viggo said, looking at Stoick, who replied with a nod.

“We should get you all back to dragons edge, before you freeze out here. Let’s go.” The chief ordered.


	25. Chapter 24

Back at the edge, Eos was resting in her warm and comfortable bed. Her arm was bandaged up, and she’d gotten some warm tea and soup to eat. Viggo and Hiccup had also retreated to their hut to get some rest, while the others were trying to figure out where the King of Dragons might be, now that the final lens was found by the Flyers. The trio would have loved to help, always being eager to work, but Stoick strictly forbid it and send them to bed. Astrid had been sent to one of the main Dragon Hunter camps to investigate. She’d promised Eos to give her updates as soon as she was back.   
Although Eos was finally back at home after days of struggle, she couldn’t fall asleep. Her mind was restlessly racing, wondering where the King of Dragons could be, thinking about all the things she could do to help instead of laying in bed like a useless child. It went on to the point where she just felt so unbearably uncomfortable in her own bed that she needed to get up and do something to relax her. But since she knew that Stoick wouldn’t let her help out, she decided to do the next best thing.  
Eos got up and walked to her door, carefully opening it. She snuck around the corner to make sure everyone was in the clubhouse, so she wouldn’t get caught. Once she was sure that the coast was clear she quickly snuck over to Hiccups hut. When Eos opened the door, she expected to see the two guys resting but instead saw them in front of a Maces and Talons board.

“Couldn’t sleep as well?” Hiccup asked upon noticing her.

“Nope.” Eos replied stepping closer to take a look at the board. “You do realize you're about to lose, right?” She informed Hiccup.  
He looked back at the game board just as Viggo made his final move. A groan escaped his lips. Since Viggo had arrived he hadn’t been able to beat him at least once. A deep chuckle escaped his opponents lips, before he got up and grabbed Eos by the waist, greeting her with a soft kiss.

“How are you, my flower?” He whispered into her ear, softly grazing her injured arm with his free hand. “How’s your wrist?”

“It feels better.” She replied smiling up to him. Hiccup decided to go upstairs and take out a book to read. He felt that the two needed some privacy. “How about you? The past few days have been kind of harsh.” Eos asked.

Viggo first didn’t reply, he was just holding Eos hands and softly rubbing them with his thumbs. His mind seemed to be somewhere else.

“Viggo?” The girl asked softly.

“Hm?” He looked at her eyes again. “I apologize, my flower. Your hands are still so cold it distracted me for a while. My wounds feel okay, the pain is slowly fading. I do believe it will be a few days until I’ll be flying again, though.” Viggo replied, still sounding absent-minded. “Let’s get you some tea, shall we? It’ll warm you up some more.” He suggested.

Not even waiting for Eos answer, Viggo set to work and made three cups of tea, even bringing one up to Hiccup, who seemed very grateful for it. In the meantime, Eos had sat down on Viggo’s bed, that was downstairs in a corner, so him and Hiccup could both have a bit more privacy. It was filled with warm furs, something Viggo could afford since he still had the money from his former job. It was so much more comfortable than the wooden beds the rest of the Riders had. Eos decided she should put some furs in her bed at home, after all of this is over.  
Viggo sat down next to her handing her a cup and putting his own down, so he had his hand free to put a blanket around Eos shoulders.

A smile adoring smile lit up Eos features. “You know I’m not that cold anymore, right?” It was quite lovely how much Viggo cared, but at the same time she didn't really want him to treat her like a child.

“I apologize, my dear. I suppose I was really worried about you when we were back at that glacier. You seemed so… fragile.” He replied, his tone still holding worry.

“Look, I understand you want to protect me, but the truth is, that I’m not a helpless maiden who can’t fend for herself. I was born for battle. And while I’m certainly not the strongest, that doesn’t mean I can’t be a warrior.” Eos explained kindly.

“I do realize that, my flower. And I don’t believe that you are in constant need of defendence, but I do still greatly care for you. Nothing will change the fact that I want you to be safe at all times.” Viggo said lovingly.

“Yeah, I know. And that’s so sweet of you -” She took his hand, “but my life won’t be like that. I will always be at the front of every battle. That will be everything I’ll ever do.”

“But is that really what you want?” Viggo asked.

“No, it certainly isn’t. I would rather be out there in the world, exploring and saving dragons, than being stuck on my island for all times, fighting wars and killing millions, like my uncle.”

“You should be aware that you do not need to _physically_ kill people. You can still keep your standards and believes.” Viggo explained, having experience in this subject.

“Viggo, this war is different from the ones I will be having. Besides, what’s the difference between me physically killing someone and the people I command killing someone? I can’t order them not to, when hundreds of men storm our island. We would be overthrown.”

Viggo gave a deep sigh. He seemed to understand her situation better now. With one arm he pulled her close, with the other hand he held hers. She put her head down on his chest and swung her legs on the bed to lay against him in a more comfortable position.

“When it is time to get concerned about this, we will find a solution together. Right now, you should rest. You’re exhausted, my beauty.”

Eos' eyes were already closed and her muscles had started to relax. She felt the cup being taken out of her hand. Then, she felt someone picking her up and laying her head down on a pillow. She was about to protest, because Viggo’s warm body was gone, but he threw some more of the deep brown furs over her, so she wouldn’t get cold.  
Though, before she was able to fully relax she glimpsed through half lidded eyes to see Viggo laying down on the floor next to his bed. He didn’t even have a blanket or pillow.

“Viggo?” She whispered. “What are you doing?” 

His seemingly always tired eyes focused back on her as he said:"Respecting you. And your boundaries. I would much prefer for you to be comfortable in this relationship."  
A warm smile grazed Eos lips. “You’re the most amazing person I have ever met.” 

“So are you.” He said with a smile of his own.

Now finally warm and relaxed, Eos was able to fall asleep peacefully.


	26. Chapter 25

The next morning, Eos woke up at early dawn. She sat up a little and looked around the room. Hiccup‘s hut looked a lot neater since Viggo moved in. The boy usually had his tools and whatever he was tinkering with at the moment spread around the entire room, accompanied by his millions of plans and sketches and the occasional book.  
Now the books were neatly put in a shelf, sorted after alphabetical order. His tools were all actually in his tool box or in the forge where he needed them. All papers were neatly stacked and sorted on his desk and the parts for his newest invention were lined up perfectly.  
Eos saw the man on the floor next to her stirring awake. She laid back down and look at him in his eyes.

“Good morning.” She said with a warm smile which Viggo returned. She climbed out of bed and sat down on the floor. Sitting up, Viggo placed a hand on her cheek and softly gave her a kiss on her forehead.

“Good morning, my dear.” Viggo said, retrieving his hand. He was about to get up and get ready for the day, but Eos winced a little and pulled him into a hug.

“Just a minute longer. I don't want to start the day yet.” She whispered. Viggo gave a deep chuckle and stroked her back softly.

“I could get used to mornings like this.” He said with a hushed voice.

“Yeah, well, Astrid would surly get suspicious, if I didn’t sleep in her hut anymore.” Eos said, still sounding tired. But then she realized something. “Oh gosh, Astrid!” She yelled out, pushing Viggo away. “She’ll surly be home by now!”

“My dear, please, stay calm. Hiccup already knows as well, would it be that much of a problem if Astrid knew?” He asked.

“That’s not the problem, Viggo.” Eos sighed. “If Astrid got home sometime last night, and she didn’t know where I was she would ask the others to help find me. So maybe, the entire island already knows.” Eos said, hastily getting up and putting her boots back on. Viggo must’ve taken them off without her noticing.

“Eos, don’t you think we would’ve noticed if someone came in, in the middle of the night?” That sentence got her to slow down a bit.

“Yeah.. yeah, you’re probably right. Sorry.” She said, slowly sitting back down on the bedside. 

“It’s alright now, my flower. But I hope that you do realize, we can’t keep this a secret for ever.” Eos was about to answer, but Viggo cut her of with a short kiss. “Go to your hut now, before Astrid gets suspicious.”

And with that Eos headed out into the cold winter air, back to her hut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter guys, this kind of just a filler to get some cute couple moments but also to keep the story flowing. I promise you though, that you do not want to miss the next chapter ;)


	27. Chapter 26

Eos was walking back to her hut a lot more calmly now. She had slept well, she was warm and Viggo had calmed her nerves. Remembering that he slept on the hard wooden floor for her sake last night made her heart glow. Totally caught up in her thoughts about Viggo, she wasn’t expecting Astrid to stand in the middle of the room, right as she opened the room.

Eos was greeted with the sentence:"So, you and Viggo, huh?"

Totally startled and unprepared for this statement, Eos stumbled over her words. “Uh, wha- how?- I.. I mean- I don’t...”

Astrid gave a deep sigh and walked over to her friend, pulling her over to her bed to sit and talk. “Since when? And why did you never tell me?”

Eos fidgeted with the bandage on her wrist, unsure how to reply. Where to start? What to say? The only reason Eos had ever truly wanted it to be a secret was because of Astrid’s reaction. She knew Hiccup would never leave her side. She was also aware that Fishlegs wouldn’t find it hard to get over the shock if he saw that the relationship was working out, and she wouldn’t be all that upset about Snotlout and the twins knowing, since they would most likely not get in her way somehow. But she did care about Astrid. She had hated Viggo for a very long time and wasn’t all that great with forgiving. Eos didn’t want to lose her, but she also didn’t want to have to choose between Astrid and Viggo.

“It all started about three weeks ago. After you had that big fight with him. That’s when we first kissed. But I think we were already pretty close to each other when that happened. I guess, we’ve had feelings for each other for some time, and it just felt right at that moment, you know?” Eos explained. Astrid gave her a nod, but waited for her to continue. “As to… well, why I didn’t tell you. You… you despise Viggo. I didn’t want to have an argument with you about it. Especially the day we first kissed would’ve been a bad idea, since you two had some trouble that day. So I decided to keep it hidden from everyone and Viggo supported it. I just didn’t want to cause any disruptions in the team, now that the war is so close to ending. I’m sorry for being so secretive, I should’ve been honest.”

Astrid put a hand on her friends shoulder. Her ocean blue eyes looked at her with deep understanding. “I get that. When Hiccup and I started out, I didn’t want to be disturbed as well. I wanted it to be our little secret. It’s just that we always talk, you know? You were the first person I told, that’s why I freaked when I saw you with Viggo.” The blonde looked down, her eyes now clouding with many thoughts. “Speaking off, Eos, I trust you. And I trust your judgment. We are both adults now and you are actually a lot better at it than I may ever be.” That got a small giggle out of Eos. It wasn’t like Astrid wasn’t right, after all Eos was a bit older than the other Riders, so it did make sense. “I may not like Viggo a lot, but I’ve started to respect him. He isn’t even half bad. I want you to choose to be with him without having to consider your friends. You should be able to say ‘That’s the one’ without fear of loosing me. Because you won’t. Ever. Not after this, okay?”

“Okay.” Eos pulled her friend into the tightest of hugs, thanking God for her loyalty and understanding. As they parted, they both had a big smile on their lips. But Astrid wasn’t done yet.

“Just know, that if he ever hurts you, in any way, shape or form, I will cut his head off and disembowel him.” 

Eos giggled. “Noted.” But her smile would soon faint.

Hiccup walked in the door, a grave look on his face. He had heard the last part of the conversation. “Well, you can decapitate and disembowel him when we find him, because him and Leiptr are gone.”

Eos eyes widened in shock. “What? And you let him? Hiccup, he's still injured and needs to rest. Where could he have possibly gone? And why?”

Hiccup shook his head. “I don’t know. But he left this note with your name on it.” He handed Eos a piece of parchment paper. She opened it and read:

_My dear Eos,_

_do me a favor and don’t go home within the following week. I’m only trying to keep you safe._

_Best regards,  
VG_


	28. Chapter 27

Eos breath hitched. No. This wasn’t happening. If Viggo didn’t want Eos there that meant something was going to go down. Something dangerous. And the fact that Viggo knew could only mean one thing. He was the traitor. He had been lying to her all this time. How could she not have noticed? But then she realized the signs had been there all along. This drastic change in character that came way to suddenly, him having way too much knowledge when it came to them being captured by Krogan and Johann, him knowing where to find their dragons after they were captured. This weird break-in in that tent when they went to save their dragons. He risked getting them in danger over some papers. And then him always giving them just enough inside information to trust him, but not to harm the Hunters.  
Eos felt her like her heart was shattering. She’d fallen for him. How could she have been so foolish? Eos didn’t want to cry a single tear about Viggo. He wasn’t worth it. He was the scum of the earth and she knew it. And yet a few soft sobs escaped her before she started to cry. Why would he do that to her? Why lie about having feelings, when he already had their trust? Was it just to make the suffering greater? Just to add some extra damage? And why did he warn her not to come? Did he just want her out of the way? Did he seriously believe she was that stupid? No, no, he didn’t. He knew she was smart. Which meant he only wrote this to subtly hint his betrayal. He only did this to upset her. Eos was just another one of Viggo’s toys. She was expendable. Replaceable.

Hiccup pulled his sobbing friend into a hug, not yet knowing of the betrayal. Astrid softly took the parchment from Eos and put a hand on her shoulder to show her support, while Eos was still being hugged by Hiccup. Astrid couldn’t resist reading what the letter said though. She quickly skimmed over it and finished the letter with a gasp of realization.

“Okay, Eos-” Astrid said, getting her friend’s attention. “This doesn’t mean he’s a traitor yet, it just means he might be. There’s a fifty-fifty chance that he knows something we don’t and is trying to resolve it without us getting involved, which is noble but stupid. So, we follow him and check out what’s up. Either he’s a traitor or a self-sacrificing idiot.”

The brown-haired girl took a deep breath and calmed herself. Astrid was right. It almost stung in her heart that she first thought of betrayal and not of this. But the nagging thoughts of the reasons why it just had to be betrayal didn’t leave her.

Hiccup now took the letter and read it as well, before he handed it back to Eos, who simply allowed Eurus light it up.

“I’ll go get the other and tell them to get ready,” Eos said hastily, already half out the door.

“Hey, woah, Eos wait. We first need to think about what to do when we get there. We don’t know what’s going on. For all, we know there could be a massive battle. We would get caught up between the two fronts. We can’t leave without a plan.”

Eos thought about what Hiccup said for a moment and it did make sense. Of course, it did. But they just didn’t have the time. “Hiccup, if we don’t leave now, my island could be destroyed by the time we get there. If there is a fight going on, we’ll join my army, if there isn’t we will look for Viggo on the island. We can get into the details while we fly there. I’m getting the others.”

 

Half an hour later they were in the sky on their way to Protectors Island. Hiccup was discussing the battle strategy, but Eos was only listening with one ear. She was far to caught up in her thoughts. Or rather her memories. She remembered the adorable face Viggo made when she surprised attacked him with a snowball right in his face, the midnight flights after a long day of work. How he’d smile against her lips when they kissed. Had all of that been fake? Was it all a ruse? Eos prayed to God that it wasn’t but she just couldn’t be sure anymore. It wasn’t like Viggo to just disappear. At least it wasn’t like the new Viggo.  
The sun started to set. It would be midnight when they arrived at her island. Eurus seemed to have recognized the route because she was getting more and more excited. The dragon loved her home on Protectors Island. Eos just hoped that Viggo truly did have a change of heart back then, otherwise there might not be a home to come back to anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I've been struggling with some writers block lately and I'm still struggling to overcome it. So given that and that school will start again soon, updates might be slower than usual. I'm sorry, but I hope you understand.


	29. Chapter 28

As they were only a mile away from the island, Eos’ nerves kicked in. They were hovering above the clouds, hidden from the world beneath them. Eos could already hear the battle sounds. So Viggo had known about this. From where he had the information, she had no clue. She also didn’t know what side he was on. All she knew is, they had to get to the Great Hall to confer with her family. Find out what was going on. Eos and Eurus took the lead as they started the descend around the war zone to the island. Arriving at the front doors of the hall, Eos turned to look at her friends.

“Remember guys, be humble and only speak when spoken to. My people are proud and sometimes quick to judge a stranger. My family may know you but the council doesn’t.” Eos reminded her friends. She then turned her attention to her best friend. “Hiccup, as soon as I introduce you as the leader you’ll have the right to speak at any given time, but you have to keep in mind that you are not only representing the Riders. You are speaking on behalf of all of Berk. One wrong word and the alliance is over.”

“Great pep-talk.” Snotlout commented.

“Let’s just get this over with.” Hiccup said, clearly not in the mood to perform one of the duties he will have to attend to when he becomes chief.

Walking in, the Great Hall might have been the most impressive thing the Riders had ever seen. It wasn’t a big cave, re-functioned to be a hall like they had it in their home. No, it was a big castle-like building, with white walls and marble floors. In the middle of the room was a grand table on which a hand full of important-looking people sat. On a sort of podium were three big chairs. A fourth one was next to the podium, a sheer black sheet covering it. On the chair in the middle of the podium sat Eos’ father, the chief. To his right was Hákon in a chair just as impressive looking as his fathers. The chair to the chief’s left was empty. That one belonged to Eos.  
As the group entered the hall the discussion the council was having stopped. Eos proudly stepped forth.

“Eos, my daughter. I’m glad you and your friends are here, assuming it is because of this attack. But please, do explain.” Eos was very well aware her father only asked her to explain, so the council wouldn’t throw a fit, but she spoke regardless.

“Father, brother, members of the high council, I want to introduce to you Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Stoick the Vast and heir to the Hooligan Tribe. With him is his team of Dragon Riders. We had a suspicion of an attack on the island and rushed here to investigate and to see if we could be of assistance.” Her introduction seemed to please the council who had been quite tense when the Riders arrived.

“Very well.” Eos' father spoke. “Take your seat, Eos.”

The high council stood as Eos walked up to the podium and seated herself with her brother and father. The Riders could only look in astonishment as to how structured this society was compared to theirs. They seemed to have a rule for everything. But before they could indulge in more thought, a member of the council spoke to their leader.

“Hiccup Haddock, it came to our attention that you were the first of your tribe to treat dragons properly. Is it true that you asked our princess to join you because you declared war on the Dragon Hunter tribe?”

“Um, yes.. yes that is true.” Hiccup replied nervously, clearly not as equipped to deal with these matters like Eos could.

“Do any of you know the motive of the attack?” Another member asked.

Eos spoke up again. “I believe they are after our Dragon Eye lenses. They are currently looking for the King of Dragons and believe these lenses can help them find it.” A number of gasps ran through the room. The King of Dragons. Legend had it that the ancestors of the Protectors where send out by the King of Dragons long ago, to protect his kind. Whether this was true or not, nobody truly knew. But the King of Dragons was sacred to the Protectors, even more so then Vanaheim.

“Than we shall fight with more strength than ever before.” The chief spoke. Normally, the chief of the Protectors wouldn’t be a warrior but a diplomat. Fighting was the younger siblings' job. Eos’ father, however, was different. He was always at the front, right next to his brother. Hákon had sworn to himself to do the same.

“Just one last question.” Eos’ brother said. “How did you know they were going to attack?” Her blood ran cold. Eos couldn’t answer that, they hadn’t even found Viggo yet. So Hiccup replied for her.

“We aren’t sure, but we believe one member of the Riders betrayed us. He left us a warning not to come here but didn’t say why. We believe he knew this was happening. So unless a man came here to warn you or to help you, we had a traitor in our midst.” Hiccup spoke, a bit more pulled together. 

Anxiously Eos looked around the room, waiting for a reply from one of them, to tell them that he had been here and that he had helped them.  
But alas - she wasn’t in luck today.

“I apologize, but this attack was a total surprise for us. Nobody came here to offer their assistance but you.” A council member spoke. Eos could feel her heart shattering all over again. So her first instinct was right after all. Viggo had lied to her. He had tricked her into falling for him and gambled around with her like an unknowing teenager. How could she have been so foolish? But Eos wasn’t allowed to dwell for long.

“Eos, go to the front with your brother. Find your uncle and tell him to take his best warriors with him to come to guard the lenses with me. You will take over command in the meantime.”

“Yes, father.” Eos replied gravely. The family of three stood and walked outside, the Riders following.

The chief saddled his Stormcutter and flew to the hiding place of the lenses. Eos was now left in charge of a fight for the first time, not knowing how to handle it all. Luckily she had her friends and her brother at her side. When Hákon jumped on his Woolly Howl he turned to Eos on Eurus.

“Good to have you back. We’ve got this.” He spoke with his deep voice. Hákon was a good brother. He’d always been there for Eos and they had had numerous adventures together. In a way, he was the exact opposite of Hiccup. Strong, a good fighter, aware of his future responsibilities, less impulsive even in battle. But Hiccup's intellect and big heart cast a shadow over Hákons capabilities. 

When they flew out to the battlefield, it was a bigger challenge to get to the front than they had assumed. It was even harder to find the general, but Eurus' good eyes soon spotted the man. Shortly after, he was caught up and left with his most skilled warriors. Now it was on. Eos was in charge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, this time I'm posting three chapters at once a bit earlier than I usually would because I'm so stocked to see you guyses reaction to what'll happen next in the story. Just know that we haven't quite reached the climax yet :). I hope you guys enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them!


	30. Chapter 29

The counter-attack was going just as planned. Eos had quickly re-grouped some troupes after noticing some holes in their formation. They were finally able to surround the Dragon Hunters and drive them away from the island. While they were still fighting to get more ground between the Hunters and the island, Eos felt that something was off. She couldn’t see Krogan and Johann anywhere. Usually, the former trader was on a ship, supervising every attack and Krogan was at the front with his Titan Wing Singetail. Them not being there was hugely out of character. And probably the worst plan yet. With the leading duo always being around, of course someone would notice if they weren’t for once and would help them figure that they were up to something else. This stupid move gave Eos hope that Viggo may not have been involved in all of this, and it was just a huge misunderstanding.   
However, she couldn’t think of Viggo right now. She needed to find out where Krogan and Johann were first. And she had a feeling where they might be.

“Dusty!” Eos called for her second in command. “I have to take care of some business. You and Hákon are to take over. Don’t back down, okay?”

“Consider it done!” the shield maiden replied, watching her general fly off to the mountains.

Hiccup and Astrid noticed Eos flying off too. “Go after her.” Astrid said. “We’ve got this covered.”

“Thanks, Astrid.” Hiccup smiled at his betrothed. He could always count on her. “Eos! Wait up!” He called after his friend.

 

Eos had Eurus fly into a cave, Hiccup and Toothless following reluctantly. But she seemed to know what she was doing and she wasn’t slowing down, so they had no choice but to go after her. Hiccup did have Toothless use his echo-blast, to be safe.

“So… you know where the lenses are hidden?” Hiccup asked.

“No, I don’t. I know that they must be in a cave somewhere. That’s the only information I have.” Eos was very short with Hiccup today, but he was understanding of it. She had had a horrible day, with losing Viggo and having her home attacked on the same day. Hiccup could only hope that this would blow over quickly. They were so close to finding the King of Dragons, and he knew he couldn’t do that without her.

All of the sudden, Eurus stopped in her tracks, so quickly that Toothless almost crashed into her. Hiccup was about to question what was going on when he heard swords clashing together and dragons roaring.

“This way!” Eos flew right, Hiccup hot on her tail. They flew through a tunnel that led to a large, high cave. Inside where Eos' father and uncle, accompanied by their warriors and dragons. On the other side, fighting them, were Krogan and Johann on Krogan’s red Singetail, alongside some Flyers and, to Eos dismay, Viggo on Leiptr.

Eos fought back tears when she caught his eye. She believed to see a short moment of shock and pain in his eyes, but it disappeared too quickly for her to be sure. A dark smile shot on his lips instead. The satisfaction of hurting her clearly written on his face made Eos feel like someone had stabbed her right in her heart and then twisted the blade around. This wasn’t the man she had fallen for. He truly was nothing more than a trickster and a deceiver. And to think that she had believed his lies.

“Well, would you look at that. Our little princess has returned to come to her family's aid. How noble.” Krogan said.

Eos put on a feisty look and flew to her fathers' side, Hiccup in tow. “Why, thank you, Krogan. I didn’t think honor and nobility were part of your vocabulary.” 

“Nice, comeback. So you aren’t fazed by your lovers' betrayal?” Krogan parried. The blade was twisted again.

“Lover? Eos, what is this about?” The chief's voice boomed through the cave. And again.

“Father, I can explain, trust me!” Her voice revealed sudden desperateness.

“Explain that you are courting a Dragon Hunter? Please do!” And again.

Now Viggo spoke up too. “I assure you, there is nothing to explain. We were never courting in the first place.” And again, and again, and again.

Tears welled up in Eos eyes again, and this time she couldn’t stop them. But she stayed headstrong and sent a burning gaze Viggo’s way.   
Seeing his daughter's pain, Eos’ father didn’t care about the circumstances anymore and charged at the hunters. When he moved away, Eos was able to see a pedestal with the two lenses on them. They had hidden them in the same place? Really?  
But there was no time to focus on her family's stupidity. The fight was reigniting and there was no time to lose. A Flyer charged Eurus but she quickly maneuvered out of the way. Eos jumped off her dragon and delivered a mid-air kick to the Flyer, pushing him off of the Singetail. Eurus caught her rider and prevented her from falling with a well-practiced movement. Next, Eos had Eurus fire at the Singetail to get their attention. She then performed some quick tricks to get them to follow her, the maneuver ending in her sending the Flyers with their dragons into a wall, by moving out of the way at the last second. This was the last of Krogans Flyers since Hiccup and her father had taken care of the other ones. But when Eos turned around to face Krogan, Johann and Viggo, her voice got caught in her throat. There was an arrow flying directly towards Viggo, aimed at his chest and shot by her father.  
As much as Eos despised him, she couldn’t let him die. She just didn’t have it in her. The world seemed to move in slow-motion, as Eos directed Eurus towards Viggo and Leiptr. The arrow was steadily moving towards them, but his gaze was on her, and her alone. When Eurus was only a meter or two away from Leiptr Eos jumped and knocked Viggo off his dragon and out of the danger zone. She felt the tip of the arrow brush past her ribs, making the tiniest of cuts in her armor, but not touching her skin. Now falling, Viggo’s arms were around her, hugging her tightly. She wanted to push him away but she was frozen as the hard stone ground came closer and closer. But in the last second Eurus claws caught the couple and put them down softly. The world returned to normal speed again and Eos focused her eyes on Viggo as he let her go.

“Eos, my flower, what are you doing here? I told you to stay away.” Viggo's tone was so hushed, Eos could barely hear it. It was almost like he was afraid of something.

“What are you talking abou-” Eos was cut off by a yell from Hiccup.

“No!” Hiccup yelled out, storming out the cave on Toothless back, Eos’ father following. The Flyers had disappeared entirely and only a few of her men and her uncle were left. 

“What just happened?” Eos called out to them.

“Krogan managed to steal a lens.” A warrior replied. 

“No...” Eos whispered. How could she let that happen? If she hadn’t jumped in, to save Viggo, maybe she could have prevented this. When Eos turned back to face Viggo though, he and Leiptr were gone. Eos punched the stone ground underneath her and let out a frustrated yell before she sobbed into her now bloodied hand. The wrist on her left arm was stabbing with pain, on the right her knuckles were burning. But the pain she was most focused on was in her heart. She couldn’t take it anymore.

But before she could break down entirely, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her uncle's outstretched hand, his lense in it. 

“Look, I get this is hard for you, Button. But you have to pull yourself together. We’re all counting on you and your little group now for the answers. Take my lens and see if it helps you defeat them.”

“But uncle, if I take it then I’ll officially be the new general. You’d be stepping down. I’m not ready for that.”

“Button, you’re 21 already. I’ve seen that little scared girl grow up into a headstrong, beautiful, skilled woman. You slipped up today, for the first time in years. It’s time for you to take your place and repair the damage done today. There comes a time when you have to step up and face your problems, okay Button?”

“Okay-” Eos wiped her tears with a small smile. “But then you have got to stop calling me Button.” She said, grabbing the lense.

“Sorry, no-can-do.”


	31. Chapter 30

Viggo heard Eos’ heart-wrenching sobs when he fled out of the cave with Leiptr. He wanted to turn around and explain, make things good again and end her suffering. But he knew, if he would step in now, she’d surely be killed. He needed her away from Johann for a little longer. He only needed a little more time to find a way to fix things. His first plan of trapping the Hunters with the Protectors hadn’t succeeded because of Hiccups and Eos’ intervention, but Viggo had more than one trick up his sleeve. So he flew back to the leading ship of the fleet, where Krogan was defending himself from Hiccup and Toothless.

“Forgive me, my friend.” Viggo whispered to himself before he had Leiptr aim at Toothless fake tail-fin and sent the duo tumbling out of the sky and into the freezing ocean waters underneath them. Before he landed though, he made sure a Rider had seen what happened, so Hiccup would be pulled out to safety. 

“There you are, Grimborn. Come on, Johann is waiting below deck.” Krogan ordered.

Stepping into the captain's quarters, Johann was already waiting. The new lens was placed in the Dragon Eye and a Terror was sitting next to it in a cage.

“Finally! I’ve been trying to get this thing to work, but it won’t show me what’s on the lense.” Johann said. “Viggo, can you fix it?”

Krogan's eyes widened and he jumped in between Viggo and the Eye in no time. “I’m not letting him take it! He isn’t on our side remember? The only reason why he’s here is that we threatened to kill Eos.” 

The girl's name ran of Krogan’s tongue way too easily for Viggo’s taste. It came with a familiarity that he had noticed in other conversations between the two before. Their former acquaintanceship had been nagging in the back of his mind for a while now, but at the moment, he had other things to focus on.

“Please Krogan. I’m aware of the fact that I am not allowed to trick or betray you if I wish for her to live. I will repair the Dragon Eye if that is what you request.” Viggo’s voice sounded rough when he hit those deeper notes like he does when he is upset. 

However, he was uncharacteristically obedient. Something Krogan wasn’t used to come across when it came to Viggo. But he figured that his little girlfriend was of more worth to him than anticipated. So he let Viggo get to work, impatiently waiting for the reveal of the King of Dragons.

Viggo, on the other hand, had different ideas. He removed a piece of paper from the front of the first lens in the Eye, that he had placed there the night before. It had prevented light from shining through. Those two idiots would never notice something like that. Then, he used an old trick he learned from his grandfather. When Viggo was young, he had taught him sleight of hand. He took the new lens out and replaced it with a fake one, that had nothing written on it. The man could only hope that the other two didn’t see his little gamble, but he too, wasn’t in luck today.

“He just switched lenses!” Krogan yelled. This wasn’t going to end well.


	32. Chapter 31

Back in the hall, Eos again joined her brother and father on their high chairs. The Hunters had the lense, but they hadn’t left yet. Their ships were still in the waters close by. The high council was debating on what to do loudly, the Riders were standing close by, watching the dilemma.

“We should attack!”

“Our troops are exhausted, we need a day to regroup!”

“In a day they might have killed the King of Dragons already!”

“They wouldn’t kill it, they need it!”

During all the noise, siblings were able to re-connect.

“How you holding up, Eos?” Hákon asked, abandoning his chair to crouch down next to his sisters.

She huffed and send a small smile his way. “I’ve been better.” Eos carefully looked around to check if her father wasn’t listening. “Uncle gave me his lense.”

“What? But Eos, that means-” Hákon called out.

“Yeah, I know, I know. Please keep it down. I don’t want dad to hear.”

“Why not? Eos, this is a huge deal! You get to lead the army!”

“Hákon, I don’t want to lead the army! All I want is for things to be back to normal. Krogan can crawl back into his hole and I can go stay with Hiccup whenever I want, but most importantly, I.. I want Viggo back.”

“That Dragon Hunter?”

“He said he’d changed. And there was so much proof that he had. And I’m still sure that he has. He said something to me in those caves today, something that could prove his innocence!” Eos explained to her brother desperately. 

“Ah man, you really did fall for him, huh? Go on a flight, clear your head. I’ll cover for you, but please don’t do anything stupid. We have more important things to worry about right now.”

“Thanks, you’re the best! And don’t worry, I’ll be back in no time.” Eos said as she got up to walk out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the insanely short chapter. This is more of a filler, to keep the plot going but to also give Eos' and Hákon's relationship some of the spotlight. I never put much thought into his character, but he's starting to grow on me. Maybe he'll be in more chapters in the future. We'll see :)


	33. Chapter 32

Hákon had told his father that Eos had gone on another patrol flight, to check if there were any updates on the Hunters position. In a way, that was true. Eos was checking for something, but it was only one Hunter she was interested in. She knew this was the last thing she should be doing. Hákon had sent her away to clear her head and to take a break, not to indulge in this seemingly meaningless matter anymore. Eos was fighting a war. For God’s sake, she was the new general of an enormous army of skilled dragon-riding Protectors, not to mention the fleet she now also had control over. The girl even had a lense that could potentially bring them to the King of Dragons before Krogan and his Flyers could.   
Though Eos knew, that she had to push her relationship behind her and attend to her duty, she couldn’t. Not without him. She had this gut feeling that something wasn’t right. Sure, what he had said in those caves could have all been a lie, but she had seen his face. She had seen the desperate glistening in his eyes. She had seen that he only wanted her out of there so she’d be safe.  
And if that was true, if he truly was toying with Johann and Krogan, than she had to find him and get him out of there, before they’d find out. All Eos could do was hope that she wasn’t wrong this time. Hope, that Viggo truly did have feelings for her. And hope to find him in time to clear all of this out of her system. And then she could finally forgive him and he would hug her and kiss her and hold her and the world would be okay again.

A movement in the corner of her eye got her to focus on a small figure near the caves at the beach. Leiptr was stumbling into a cave, a man steadying himself on him. Viggo.

“Let’s check that out, girl,” Eos whispered to her dragon and directed her down towards the beach.

As she jumped off her dragon and her boots hit the wet, white sand of the beach, Eos felt a little pang of fear in her chest. She was going after him on a gut-feeling. She didn’t have any proof that he had changed. For all she knew, he could be the vicious, mean Dragon Hunter he used to be and kill her before she even had the chance to open her mouth.   
But when Eurus put her snout on Eos back and gently nudged her towards the entrance of the cave, she gained some trust. Her dragon had never gotten it wrong.

Eos walked into the cave, breathing out shakily. “Viggo? Are you there?”

Suddenly Eos heard a sword being unsheathed next to her alongside hasty footsteps. Without even thinking, Eos pulled out one of her trusted swords and blocked the attack, the clashing swords locking in place.  
Eos turned to see Viggo’s surprised look and immediately felt him back down.

“Eos.” He breathed. “It’s you.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s me.” Eos put her sword back to grab his arms. “Viggo what happened? You look awful.” Her voice was shaky and tears threatened to roll down her face once again.

“My flower, I am so unbelievably sorry for all of this. Never in my life could I have imagined that they would go this far to get to that lense. I am very well aware that you must be incredibly enraged by all of this, but I do hold the hope that you may be able to find it within yourself to forgive me for this.”

“Viggo, I...” Eos desperately wanted to repeat her words from that moment on the beach so long ago. She wanted to say that she already had forgiven him, that it was okay. But when she was honest with herself, when she dug deep… There wasn’t any forgiveness. There was pain and anger and confusion. Eos hands were quaking when they slid off Viggo’s arms to hug her slim form. Tears streamed down her freckled cheeks form her fear-filled eyes. When Viggo reached out to wipe them away, she flinched back. 

She saw the pain in his eyes, in both of them, his blind one even. And she wanted to feel sorry for hurting him, she did, but Eos couldn’t. When she looked at him, she didn’t see her Viggo anymore. She saw a Hunter. A liar. A trickster. A deceiver. Everything she always claimed he wasn’t was now all she could see. And she couldn’t even find it in herself to feel sorry for it.

“I… I have to go.” 

“No, Eos, wait!” But before Viggo could run after her, Eos was already gone. Viggo felt like his heart was being ripped out as he saw the white spot flying away in the distance. He wanted nothing more than to follow her, and clear this up, but Leiptr was injured. And his own old wounds from the wolves were open again too, this time accompanied with Singetail bites and claw marks.  
His dragon needed to rest, Viggo couldn’t push him now, so shortly after a battle. 

So Viggo did the only thing he could do. Sit down and strategize how to defeat Johann and Krogan, accounting for every possibility and having back-up plans for his back-up plans ready to go.


	34. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So first of all, I apologize deeply for the long wait, especially because I left you on a cliffhanger. The past few weeks have been more than stressful and crammed. I'm part of a musical company and we recently had our final shows for the year. The same week, I flew to London with my class for a language trip, so I didn't have the time to write or post there either. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Updates still might be slow, because of school and lack of time and motivation though, so sorry in advance.   
> I was planning a sequel to this book, but I must admit, that in my heart, I've already moved on to other projects. I will finish this book and conclude the story in a one(or five, honestly, I never know)-shot and if I ever feel like it, I may come back to writing that sequel. What you can be sure to expect from me in the future are one-shots, prompts, and ideas that never made it into the actual story of Viggo and Eos. I might also post different works regarding Viggo (and maybe another girl) but that is not certain.  
> Anyway, this note has been way too long already. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Eos was violently sobbing on Eurus' back. Had she just.. ended things? Had he? Where they ever even truly together? What did her family think? What did her friends think? What did Viggo think? Heck, what on earth did she think? What did she even feel? Eos was so confused over everything that was going on. Her island lost a sacred lense because of her, she was in charge of an army only waiting on her command and all she could do was cry over this guy that literally everyone she valued had warned her about and she had dismissed it. Because she believed that ‘People aren’t always their past’ and you need to ‘Move on’ and ‘Give second chances’. Where had her idealism gotten her? They were about to lose every single dragon in the Archipelago because she couldn’t get her act straight.

She then saw Hiccup and the Riders on the town square talking and without thinking flew down to them. She jumped of Eurus and ran to them, Hiccup only looking at her shocked before embracing her. But Eos didn’t have the time anymore.

“No, no, no, Hiccup, look I’ve got the second lense.” She pulled the artifact her uncle had given her out of her pocket. “We can go look for the King of Dragons now and get to him before Krogan does.”

The Riders looked at her in astonishment. “Eos, they left half an hour ago, they are way ahead of us.” Astrid filled her in.

“It’s still worth a shot.” Hiccup concluded.

“Okay, let’s go to my house, no one must see that I have the lense.”

“Why?” Tuffnut asked with a suspicious tone.

“Uuh.. Protocol. Let’s go!” Eos lied. Gosh. She lied. Eos never lied unless she was being questioned by the enemy. Had Viggo really changed her that much? She wasn’t even able to feel empathy for Viggo or guilt that she had left him there, all alone and injured. Who even was she?

But Eos had to push those thoughts behind her when they arrived in her room and Hiccup got the Dragon Eye 2 ready. She carefully placed the lense with the others and Toothless ignited his fire. A colorful picture of a Titanwing Dramillion lit up the wall the Dragon Eye was pointing to.

“That’s a Dramillion!” Fishlegs said excitedly.

“The King of Dragons is a Dramillion?” Astrid questioned in disbelieve.

“It’s a Titanwing Dramillion. Look at it in relation to the other dragons.” Fishlegs pointed to some of the other dragons on the map.

“Alright, gang, Dramillion island! Let’s go!” Hiccup said, taking the Dragon Eye.

But Eos had a complaint. “Woah, hold on there Hiccup. I’d like my lense back please.” She held out her hand demanding it back.

“Don’t worry, it’s safer In the Dragon Eye. That way we can’t break it or lose it on the way.”

“I’m really sorry Hiccup, but this lense has to stay here. That’s how it’s always been. These lenses don’t leave the island if we can help it.”

Reluctantly Hiccup gave the artifact back to Eos, who hid it in a secret door behind her closet, locking it before she left. She would find a better place for it later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that the note at the beginning kinda made it sound like this was already the end. That's not what this chapter is, but soon we'll be finished. Stay tuned, guys!


	35. Chapter 34

The Riders were getting ready to leave for Dramillion island. Though Eos was finally sure she was doing the right thing, Viggo was still in the back of her head. Her heart felt heavy when she thought about him. All alone, injured, in that cold cave. Eos should feel sorry, but the only place her mind could go to was thinking that he deserved it. That he deserved having to suffer a little. Look at what was going on in her life right now. She was basically pronounced a general, something she had been resenting her hole life. And the worst part was, that she couldn’t talk to anyone about it, because they needed to focus on the battle and on finding the King of Dragons. And she couldn’t talk about Viggo, because if she would, then someone would surely go find him and execute him and as much as she hated him, she didn’t want that either.

As they were about to take flight, Eos' father stopped them. “Eos wait!” he called after her.

“Dad? What’s going on?” Eos asked, sending a silent prayer that he would tell her to stay home because it was too dangerous. All she really wanted right now was to curl up in her bed and cry. Cry for hours. Cry so loudly that her father and brother would hear and come talk to her. But Eos’ bad luck was resistant.

“Your uncle just told me! We will, of course, have to postpone the ceremony and we will need to talk about some details of your new job, but the commanders already know, so you can take as many men as you need. By ship or by dragon, whatever your strategy is.”

Hiccup looked at his best friend questioningly. “Eos, what is your father talking about?”

She gave a deep sigh. This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid. “As soon as a lense is passed on, the position of the former owner is passed on too. The lense we looked at was my uncles. I’m the general now.” Eos looked at her father. “I’ll take Dusty and her troops.”

“They are already waiting for you. Good luck, Eos. I’m proud of you.” And with that her father walked away, leaving her with the aftermath of that major truth bomb.

When Eos turned to look back at Hiccup his eyes were wide with shock and he seemed speechless. “Hiccup, please don’t do this,” Eos begged.

“I’m sorry, I’m just… I don’t know, reacting? This happened so quickly.” He tried to sound as unfazed as possible but they both knew he failed horribly in that department. “Look, for now, let’s take advantage of it. It is a good thing that we have more resources to help us out with the Flyers.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s focus on the positive side.” Eos said. And she really did want to do that.


	36. Chapter 35

When they finally arrived at Dramillion island, Johann and Krogan were already there. Some of the Singetails were attacking the Dramillions others were starting to set the island on fire. Eos and Hiccup exchanged a confused look about this, wondering why they would burn the island of the dragon that they needed down to bits. But there was no time to discuss this. Eos turned to Dusty and ordered her to have her troops attack the Flyers and keep them as far away from the Dramillions as possible. Flying down to join the Riders and her own men, Eos wasn’t sure if this was a battle they could win. She had only taken Dusty and her troop, because she had never worked with any other commanders before and she wasn’t sure if she could handle the older more experienced ones. Dusty was only a few years older than her, but Eos was more comfortable with her than Dusty’s colleagues. On the other hand, Dusty’s troop wasn’t their biggest or strongest one and she could have gotten away with taking The Elite Guard, easily. They were fighting for the King of Dragons here after all. But Eos knew she wouldn’t have been able to handle that. The Elite Guard was a big deal, it was only brought out in the biggest of emergencies. Granted, again, it was _The King of Dragons_ they needed to safe, but the Riders had been able to deal with the Flyers before and this time would be no different. Besides the fact that they had even more people to help.   
The thing Eos didn’t consider during the battle though, was, of course, the fact that the Protectors and the Riders didn’t have a… rhythm.. yet. The Riders worked magnificently as a team, as did the Protectors. But together it appeared to be a lot harder.  
The twins and a soldier crashed into each other because they were performing different maneuvers on the same group of Flyers, Snotlout yelled at to Protectors for getting in his way and they almost pushed him off his Dragon, Astrid was trying to tell Dusty what to do and she wasn’t having any of it and Fishlegs wouldn’t even try to work with any of them. It was a total disaster.   
Yet, they all kept going, having only one goal: Finding that titan wing Dramillion and getting it to safety.

And then it happened. The giant dragon de-cloaked, revealing what they thought was the King of Dragons. When the Singetails started to attack the Dramillion, the others jumped into action. Now finally adapting the Protectors and Riders started to work together to defend the dragon. Things finally started to look up for Eos, when Eurus landed some good shots to some Flyers, sending them off their dragons.   
But all of a sudden Eurus was hit by a dragon root arrow Eos hadn’t seen coming. She tried to direct her dragon to land, but they were to high up and they started to fall. Eos slid of Eurus and pulled the arrow out. She desperately tried to wake her dragon up, but it was no use, she was too weak already. When Eos thought it all was over, she was about to hit the ground and die, something, or rather someone grabbed her hand.   
When Eos looked up, she was met with Viggo’s familiar eyes as he pulled her up the back of Leiptr who held Eurus in his claws. Without a word, Viggo flew Leiptr down to a cave were the Skrill softly put Eurus down. Viggo climbed off his dragon and offered Eos a hand but she dismissed it and jumped down herself.

“Viggo, what are you doing here. If any of my people see you, they’ll kill you.” She said to him, not making eye contact. _Liar, trickster, deceiver_ were the only things she could think of when she saw him. Eos hated it, but she also couldn’t help it. He had lied to her.

“You are worth dying for. Besides that, it doesn’t matter anyway. Without you I barely have anything.” Viggo’s words held so much love, but the pain in them was clear to Eos. And yet all she could do was huff.

“That’s rich coming from you. You dismissed everything we gave you by betraying us.” She accused him. And Eos was truly surprised when she saw the look of shock on his face.

“My flower, you didn’t seriously believe that, did you?” Viggo asked, hurt filling his voice.

“You joined Johann and Krogan again, Viggo. What do you want me to think?”  
“If I’m honest, I’m not sure. I supposed I hoped you would trust me.” Viggo’s voice was shaky. His head hurt from holding back his tears for so long, but he stayed strong. He’d already practically gone through Hel and back, he could get through this conversation too.

“Viggo, what happened? What is going on? You haven’t even explained a single thing, am I supposed to just know your exact thoughts?” Eos was starting to get vexed again. She should be out there helping the others safe the King of Dragons, not in here, solving her relationship problems.

Viggo took a deep breath in. He wasn’t sure if it was the right time to tell her this. She was so fragile at the moment, she might not handle the truth so well. Regardless, days of torture had gone by and Viggo had had no one to help him, so now he needed Eos there. And she wouldn’t be without the truth. So he just said it. “Eos, I was blackmailed by Johann and Krogan.” He almost choked on his own words. True, he had been blackmailed before, but never like this.

Eos breathed out heavily and stared at him in shock. Blackmailed? So, did that mean..? “So, does that mean, that you didn’t betray us? That our relationship wasn’t a lie to torture me?”

“Eos, how could I ever lie to you?” Viggo placed his hand on her cheek and leaned down a little. His forehead was leaning against hers as she started to cry. And at that moment all of Eos' emotions returned. Her love and her empathy flooded her system again and when she thought about Viggo, she finally saw the man she fell for again.

“Viggo, I am so, so sorry. I should have believed you, trusted you, but I… I was stupid and self-centered and--” Eos sobbed, choking on her own words. They slowly sunk to the ground together, Viggo’s arms around her shaking form.

“Stay calm, it’s okay, my dear. It’ll be fine, I am fine.” Viggo tried to soothe her by telling her what she wanted to hear, but they both knew that wasn’t the truth. Things weren’t fine. Viggo wasn’t fine. And he didn’t know if anything was fixable at this point. But right now all Viggo could think of was the trembling girl in his arms. He so desperately wanted to make the world okay for her again, as she had for him, but he had no idea where he should even start. So he did the only thing he could think of.

Viggo lifted Eos’ chin with his fingers and pressed one of those soft, passionate, loving kisses on her lips. The kind that made the world melt away to leave only the two of them. The kind that fixed everything for a few heartbeats. And when their lips parted and Viggo looked into Eos’ eyes there was only one thing he could say. “I love-” But he was cut off.

“No, don’t,” Eos whispered. Her fingers had flown up to his lips, making sure he wouldn’t say it.

Viggo’s eyes held sadness at her words. Hadn’t he fixed it? He had explained, hadn’t he? “Why don’t you want me to say it? Is there something still bothering you, Eos?”

Eos left hand was on Viggo’s cheek, her right one intertwined with his, while his other hand held her waist. Looking into Viggo’s eyes, so full of pain and betrayal, she truly did want to explain. But her words were failing her. She just needed a second to find out just how she could explain it without it being misunderstood. In the meantime, Viggo kept holding her, never letting go, never looking to the side. His entire focus was on that beautiful girl in front of him. The girl he so desperately needed to tell how he felt.   
But the moment broke when yells from outside reached the cave. Eos let go of Viggo’s hand and ran towards the entrance, Viggo limping behind her.

The sight out there was terrifying. Krogan and Johann were carrying the King of Dragons off. They had won. The game was over.

“No! No, no, no, no! This is all my fault, what was I thinking?” Eos said with a panicked voice. “We have to fix this!”


End file.
